SUCCESS 

A wiin ntlN 




Kb 

ni 



Wa 



SB 

39 



\v 



MSI l«P 






■:^;f.r-^v---:-:-.-::-:. 



ROBERT JO OS 




Biiok .J'-'i 



i^r]:si;ni1':i) by 



in 



SUCCESS WITH HENS 



SUCCESS 
WITH HENS 



By 
ROBERT JOOS 




CHICAGO 
FORBES & COMPANY 

1919 






Copyright, 1914, By 
Forbes and Company 



&^J T 






r- PREFACE 

Everybody should be interested in a proposition 
which offers to the man or woman with limited 
means a chance to produce an article of food at a 
cost far below the market price, and, as a rule, of 
superior quality. The greater number of people are 
progressive enough not to let such opportunities pass 
by unheeded, and they are bound to take advantage 
of the opportunities possible in poultry raising. 
What other article of food which can be produced 
in a limited space offers as many varied forms of 
use as eggs? Eggs can take the place of meat, in 
fact, they are more healthful, and just as nourishing. 
It is a food that is recommended for the weak and 
the strong, for the workers and the invalids, for the 
old and the young, and for every one at all times 
and in every clime. 

When one takes into consideration the limited 
space and capital necessary to equip a plant suffi- 
ciently large to supply the largest family with fresh 
eggs the year around, one cannot help but feel that 
the keeping of poultry should appeal forcibly to 
every one who has the opportunity. True, some are 
so situated that the keeping of poultry is impossible, 
but these are much in the minority. Even people 
living in flats, in large cities, very often have some 



6 PREFACE 

little yard space which could be utilized for the 
poultry pens. I know of cases where poultry has 
been kept successfully upon flat roofs. I have every 
reason to believe the vast majority of families are 
so situated that they can keep hens, or, better still, 
to make the hens help keep them, and I am also of 
the firm opinion that it offers to them the oppor- 
tunity to materially reduce the cost of living. This 
opinion is also shared by the many thousands who 
are now doing this very thing, and who are in a 
position to speak from practical experience. 

Most any one can keep a small flock of hens in 
the back yard and make it profitable, but when it 
comes to embarking in the poultry business on a 
large scale it requires some knowledge, some experi- 
ence, and some business judgment on the part of 
the operator or manager. A person without these 
qualifications or who is not in a position to employ 
some one with such qualifications should not at- 
tempt too much, but should start in a small way and 
let the business grow with the experience. 



CONTENTS 

CHAPTER PAGE 

I. Profit and Pleasure With Poultry. . ii 

II. Common Sense Necessary i8 

III. Method To Be Used 22 

IV. Starting in Spring 26 

V. Starting in Fall 30 

VI. Early Hatching 37 

VII. Early Fertility 41 

VIII. Late Hatching 45 

IX. Utility and Fancy Poultry 49 

X. Convenient Equipment 53 

XL Natural Incubation 57 

XII. Artificial Incubation 63 

XIII. Artificial Brooding 70 

XIV. Development of Chicks 78 

XV. Weaning of Chicks 82 

XVI. Feeding the Growing Stock 86 

XVII. Building the Frame 89 

7 



8 CONTENTS 

CHAPTER PAGE 

XVIII. Constitutional Vigor 92 

XIX. Summer Management 95. 

XX. Building Up a Laying Strain 103 

XXI. Winter Egg Production 112 

XXII. Overcrowding 117 

XXIII. Advantages of Small Flocks 121 

XXIV. Intensive and Extensive Poultry 

Farming 124 

XXV. Proper Ventilation 13O 

XXVI. Why Hens Don't Lay 136 

XXVII. Breaking Up a Broody Hen 138 

XXVIII. A General Overhauling 140 

XXIX. Inferior Food 144 

XXX. Supplying Green Foods 147 

XXXI. General Feeding 151 

XXXII. Marketing and Grading Eggs 154 

XXXIII. Fattening— Killing—Marketing ... 159 

XXXIV. Lice— Mites— Fleas 164 

XXXV. Causes of Disease 171 

XXXVI. Bowel Trouble in Chicks 174 

XXXVn. Leg- Weakness 178 



CONTENTS 9 
CHAPTER PAGE 

XXXVIII. Egg-Bound 182 

XXXIX. Frost-Bite 186 

XL. Rheumatism 188 

XLI. Roup 190 

XLIL Limberneck 194 

XLIII. Gapes 196 

XLIV. Cholera 199 

XLV. Scaly Legs 201 

XLVL Crop-Bound 202 

XLVII. Canker 204 

XLVIII. Exhibiting Poultry 205 

XLIX. Shipping Baby Chicks 208 

L. Color of Chicks 211 

LI. Moulting 213 

LIL Healthy Chicks 214 

LIII. Start the Boys 216 

LIV. The Billion Dollar Industry 221 

LV. Useful Hints for Poultry Raisers . . 224 



SUCCESS WITH HENS 

CHAPTER I 

PROFIT AND PLEASURE WITH POULTRY 

Poultry raising offers pleasure, fascination, and 
profits to everybody. Any one having any kind of 
a lot should keep poultry. 

If the figures were at hand to show the number 
of families that keep a few hens to furnish eggs 
and poultry for the family table it would be some- 
thing astounding. 

Getting away from the more congested districts 
and going out where the dwellers have yard space 
at their disposal, one will find back yard flocks almost 
everywhere. In such districts poultry is about as 
common as cats and dogs, and, of course, considered 
much more useful by the owners. 

Why do all these people keep poultry? A few 
may keep themi as pets, something to look at and 
admire, but the vast majority keep poultry because 
it pays. It means strictly fresh laid eggs at times 
when such are scarce and expensive, and with the 
absolute assurance that they are fresh. 

Aside from this there is a fascination and pleas- 
ure in keeping good poultry. I say good poultry, 
because I doubt whether any one can take as much 

II 



12 PROFIT WITH POULTRY 

real interest in a flock of scrubs. There is nothing 
to admire or breed for in a mixed flock, nor can 
anyone get as good results from such a collection. 

The average town folks long for something alive, 
something that has a touch of nature in it, some- 
thing to feed and care for and, last but not least, 
something that will furnish them good things to 
eat. What is more beautiful than a pen of fowls of 
one breed, of one color, of uniform size, and of one 
shape, basking in the sun on a bright spring day? 
It adds life to the home of the humble cottager as 
well as to the more pretentious home of the 
suburbanite. 

One who keeps poultry as it should be kept will 
derive much enjoyment out of the work and time 
put into it. He becomes a poultry fancier; he 
studies their habits and endeavors in every way 
possible to develop their points of beauty and their 
capacity for productiveness ; thus doing his share to 
improve the domestic fowls. 

He takes a lively interest in everything his flock 
does, and he soon becomes accustomed to easily de- 
tect when anything is wrong with any of them. 
He knows the individuality of each specimen, he 
learns the habits of every one, and discovers the 
shortcomings which must be overcome, if possible, 
in the future generation. 

The interest in his little backyard flock grows on 
him, and he can hardly wait until his daily work is 



PROFIT WITH POULTRY 



13 



over to be home with his hens. He becomes a poul- 
try enthusiast and the work he does in caring for 
the flock seems easy; in fact, he no longer regards 
it as work, but as a pastime and recreation. The 
poultry keeps him at home and he no longer goes 
out to look for other enjoyment which may cost 
money and do him no good. 

The expense of keeping a small flock is little. The 
table scraps from any ordinary family will go far 
towards keeping a dozen or more hens. To this, 
of course, must be added a little grain fed in the 
litter each day, and a hopper placed before them at 
all times, containing oyster shells, grit, and charcoal. 

People keep pets around the house which never 
bring in a penny, but a hen will always pay her way. 
There is lots of pleasure in going out into the hen- 
house in the evening and gathering enough real fresh 
eggs for breakfast the next morning. Just think 
of having eggs for soft boiling which can be de- 
pended upon and which have been laid by healthy 
hens in a clean, sanitary henhouse ! With the proper 
care and feeding you can have such eggs in the dead 
of winter, when strictly fresh eggs are at a high 
price. 

.It does not require much room to properly house 
and keep a small flock. A space in the back yard 
eight by fifteen feet will be plenty of room to house 
and yard a flock of twelve or fifteen hens. Even if 
confined nK>re closely than that they will do well. 



14 PROFIT WITH POULTRY 

providing everything about the place is kept fresh 
and dean and the hens are given lots of straw to 
exercise in. Nearly everybody handy with tools can 
build a neat little . henhouse 6 x 8 or purchase the 
portable kind sold by poultry supply houses. 

If you should live in a district where the neighbors 
do not appreciate the musical notes of the crowing 
cock at morn it would be well not to keep any male 
birds at all. The hens will lay just as well without 
a lord and master to call them to their meals, and 
sterile eggs will keep better than those containing a 
fertile germ. Those who keep hens in this manner 
can purchase baby chicks each spring to keep up their 
flocks and kill or dispose of all the crowers as soon 
as they show signs of getting boisterous. 

Hens closely confined must be given sufficient 
exercise in an artificial way, and must have lots of 
fresh air. Deep litter feeding and open front houses 
will supply both of these necessities. Keep the hens 
scratching and keep the henhouse well ventilated. 
Fowls in close confinement also must receive a 
greater variety of feed, and more care than fowls 
which have unlimited range. 

Fowls running on range find many things benefi- 
cial to them, which must be supplied in some other 
form when kept in small inclosures. One of these 
things are insects, which find a substitute m beef 
scraps, green cut bone, or blood meal. Another 
item is grit — poultry on farms find sharp gravel and 



PROFIT WITH POULTRY 15 

other substances which grind up the grains in the 
crops, but those in yards must be constantly suppHed 
with some good manufactured grit. Then again 
hens running in the woods can find sufficient char- 
coal, while those penned must be supplied with the 
prepared product. 

The drinking water is one of the most important 
things in connection with intensive poultry raising. 
Birds, at large, as a rule, have an opportunity to 
obtain clean, fresh water at all times, but those in 
confinement are ofttimes neglected in this respect. 
It is not only necessary to have water before the 
fowls at all times, but such water should be as pure, 
clean, and fresh as possible. Stale, impure, dirty 
water will breed disease. Not only should water 
be drawn fresh at least once a day in win- 
ter, and two or three times every day during the 
summertime, but the vessels into which this water 
is supplied to the flock should be scoured and well 
cleaned. Vessels which are not constructed in such 
a manner that they cannot be thoroughly cleaned, 
or which have any recesses which cannot be reached 
with ordinary effort on the part of the operator, 
should not be installed in the poultry plant. 

Small runways must be well looked after. They 
must be kept clean, spaded or raked often, and, if 
very small, refilled with fresh loam or ashes. The 
latter are not recommended for yellow legged fowls, 
as they have a tendency to affect the color of the 



l6 PROFIT WITH POULTRY 

legs and feet. Many back yard poultry keepers 
have two small runways to each laying house, thus 
making it possible to plant each yard alternately 
with oats, rye, or other quick growing grasses. 
Where space permits this method is preferable. On 
the other hand, there are those who pay little 
attention to the runways, thinking it only necessary 
to clean the henhouse and let the yard take care of 
itself. Such neglect is liable to result in disease. 

In building runways it is well to have ,the location 
high and dry and running toward the south if pos- 
sible. By building the yards on the south side of 
the house they are protected to a certain extent 
from the cold winds, which means much to the 
flock during the colder months. Soil should also 
receive attention. Clay, which bakes dry and hard 
during dry weather and gets soft and muddy dur- 
ing rains, is anything but satisfactory for a mod- 
ern poultry yard. Such ground should be covered 
with a good layer of black, sandy. Or gravelly soil 
or may be topped off with clean cinders well rammed 
and rolled. 

Poultry wants plenty of shade in summer, and in 
constructing runs this must have consideration. 
Trees in or adjacent to the pens or sunflower or 
other plants are commonly and successfully used for 
this purpose. Small, low runs may be partly cov- 
ered with canvas or roofing paper or vines may be 
planted so as to give the hens a shady *-etreat. Com- 



PROFIT WITH POULTRY 17 

fort is an important factor in keeping the flock in 
the best laying condition, and this is just as necessary 
in the run as it is in the laying house. 

Confined hens require more exercise than pullets 
of the same breed, as they are inclined to fatten more 
rapidly. By giving the hens a deeper litter to scratch 
in they are compelled to work harder for their food 
and the feeds, both grains and mashes, should con- 
tain less fattening matter. 

Strange as it may seem, it is a well known fact 
among authorities on poultry raising that confined 
poultry when properly housed, fed, and cared for 
will average a larger percentage of eggs than those 
on large range. The vitality of the offspring may 
in time be diminished, but the confined flock will 
lay eggs and plenty of them. 



CHAPTER II 

COMMON SENSE NECESSARY 

Poultry raising, like any other business, requires 
work and good judgment. The poultry business 
is not hard labor, but it does require a certain 
amount of exertion on the part of the operator. It 
is not a lazy man's occupation, and a person with no 
ambition will not be much of a winner in the poultry 
line. 

To be a successful poultry man one must have 
ambition and patience. Without either poultry 
work should not be attempted, unless perhaps profits 
are not to be considered. A drone in the poultry 
business will not last long, and one without patience 
may become discouraged before he fairly gets 
started on the road to success. One with good 
judgment generally has patience. He knows that 
every business has its drawbacks and some dis- 
couraging features; he knows that everything 
cannot be accomplished in one day, and that a loss 
is a good lesson, although it may be costly. If his 
hopes are not realized he does not give up in dis- 
gust, but tries and tries again until he meets success 
face to face. 

A man without ambition is careless; he puts off 
until tomorrow what should have been done today. 

i8 



COMMON SENSE NECESSARY i0 

This will never do in the poultry business. There 
are things that must be done today. Carelessness 
spells ruin to a poultry plant. It has put more than 
one poultry raiser on the list of the "has beens," 
and diminished many a good sized bank roll. 

There have been failures in the poultry business, 
but not any more in proportion than in any other 
business. When a man fails in the poultry business 
he immediately tells all his friends about his mis- 
fortunes and condemns this vocation in the loudest 
terms, and although he realizes his shortcomings 
he becomes a full fledged member of the *' Knockers' 
Club." He tells of so and so also making a failure 
of the business, but never mentions the countless 
numbers who are making good in the same line. 

But the American hen goes on supplying the 
breakfast table with its most popular victuals and 
the dinner table with healthful and delicious meats 
not tainted with lumpy jaw and tuberculosis. And 
what is more, thousands upon thousands of farmers' 
wives are clothing the entire family from the profits 
of the hennery; thousands of large poultry plants 
are making good dividends upon their investments, 
and countless numbers of backyard poultry raisers 
are supplying their tables with eggs and fowls 
besides deriving therefrom some extra money in 
addition to the salary earned from their regular 
vocation. An industry which ranks next to corn 
in dollars and cents, and then only partly figured, in 



20 COMMON SENSE NECESSARY 

the United States census reports. Does that look 
like an unprofitable business? Could an unprofit- 
able business grow to such an enormous industry? 

The man who works and uses good common 
sense in the poultry business is going to make a 
success of it. Remember, success in this business 
is not always measured by the dollar you put into 
it. It is the management of the plant which brings 
about the profits. If perhaps you are going into 
the poultry business as an investment and do not 
intend conducting it yourself great care should be 
exercised to select the proper man to manage such 
an institution. Good managers are not picked up 
every day. There are many who pose as being 
capable of handling anything in that line, but 
when placed in charge prove themselves incompe- 
tent. On a large plant where more help is needed 
it is much better to have an expert poultryman 
surrounded with ordinary laborers than to have all 
half way poultrymen, and no one who is fully 
qualified to handle all the details of such an under- 
taking. One good man who knows his business 
can get along with inexperienced help and win out. 

There are people who go into the poultry busi- 
ness with the idea that all they need do is to buy 
an incubator, say, for instance of 250 egg capac- 
ity, fill it up, hatch 250 chicks, and then sit idly 
by and in the fall take these 250 chicks to the 
market and carry home $150, the proceeds of the 



COMMON SENSE NECESSARY 21 

sale. They do not consider that the chicks require 
attention, and the result is the chicks never live 
until market time, having become the prey of 
rats, disease, vermin, or something else — another 
case of lack of judgment. Live stock, no matter 
what it may be, must have attention. It must have 
good care, proper feed, fresh water, sunshine and 
shelter, and without these it cannot live. Even 
with all these things there will be some losses; a 
few deaths in the best cared for flocks cannot be 
avoided. 

The poultry business offers big opportunities for 
the poor man, as it can be started on a small scale 
with very little capital, from which it can be 
increased gradually to an independent livelihood, 
but it means some work and a whole lot of gocKi 
common sense. 



CHAPTER III 

METHOD TO BE USED 

The question of method confronts every beginner 
in poultry raising, and such beginner must decide 
whether to follow the old way, hatching by hen, 
or using the modern method, the incubator. 

Before making any definite decision along this 
line several things must be taken into consideration, 
and no one should decide such an important ques- 
tion without giving it lots of thought. Facilities 
at hand must come in for a big share of considera- 
tion; location and breed must not be overlooked. 

There is no question but what incubators, the 
right kind of incubators, are preferable to hens, 
and it is also a fact that a large poultry plant 
could not be operated nearly as successfully with 
hens as with machines; but there are on the other 
hand many individual cases where incubators are 
unprofitable to operate. For instance, the poultry 
raiser who only wishes to raise a couple of dozen 
chicks would be exercising extravagance by using 
an incubator. 

People who can find room only in the kitchen 
for setting a machine, where the temperature goes 
from one extreme to the other, had better not 
attempt to use an incubator. The best machine 

22 



METHOD TO BE USED 23 

on the market could not turn out satisfactory 
hatches where there is such a difference in the 
temperature. A good regulator will take care of 
the small changes satisfactorily, but where the 
variation is so marked as it would be in most 
kitchens it is impossible to keep the incubator egg 
chamber at a uniform temperature. 

I have had people complain to me about the poor 
hatches from their incubators, and upon investiga- 
tion I found many of these complainants' machines 
being operated within a few feet of the kitchen 
stove. One of these same people had one of the 
best basements I ever saw for hatching purposes, 
and when I asked him why he did not set his 
machine down there he replied: "I want it handy 
so that I need not go down into the basement at 
night to look after the machine and see that it is 
running right." I told this party that if he moved 
his machine into the basement, regulated it cor- 
rectly to start with, and looked after it each 
morning and evening he would not need to get up 
at night ; in fact, he need not worry about it during 
the night. No wonder this party had to get up 
during the night and look after his regulator and 
lamp flame; the temperature of his kitchen dropped 
considerably during the night, hence it was abso- 
lutely necessary for him to look after it. 

Should the decision have been made in favor of 
the incubator the question then arises what kind 



24 METHOD TO BE USED 

and size to buy. The answer to this question is : 
Buy a good one, and let the size be governed by the 
facilities at hand to obtain the hatching eggs and 
the raising of the chicks. 

It would be folly for a small back yard poultry- 
man with only a small flock of, say, a dozen hens 
to buy a 300 or 400 capacity machine, and it would 
be equally imprudent for a man with 100 or 200 
hens to purchase an incubator with a capacity of 
only fifty or sixty eggs. A small poultry raiser 
with a small flock would be compelled to save his 
eggs too long to fill one of the larger machines. 
Eggs may be safely kept for hatching for a period 
of two weeks, providing they are turned each day; 
but to obtain the best result from the hatches I 
would not advise setting eggs older than this. 

Where hens are to be used for this work care 
must also be exercised in the selection of such hens. 
The disposition of some hens is such that they oft- 
times are poorer hatchers than the worst incubator 
made. Some hens are unreliable, sit on the nest 
for a few days, only to forsake it again; and some 
hens are so clumsy and awkward they break the 
eggs. 

Never select a wild hen; the tame ones make 
better setters and mothers. It is not advisable to 
select the large, feathered leg varieties for setters, 
nor birds crossed with the nonsetting varieties. 
Plymouth Rocks, Rhode Island Reds, Wyandottes, 



METHOD TO BE USED 25 

and other medium sized varieties make the best 
setters, but even in these varieties unreHable hens 
will be found. 

It is a good idea to set either three or six hens 
at one time if such a thing is possible. This will 
give you a chance to give the results from three 
or four hatches to two hens to brood, make it pos- 
sible to reset some of the good setters, and at the 
same time have more chicks of a uniform size 
and age. 

Do not attempt to place any eggs under a hen 
until after such hen has been thoroughly treated 
with a reliable lice killer. Tobacco stems placed in 
the bottom of the nests will also assist in keeping 
the hen free from vermin. Many hens leave the 
nest on account of being pestered by lice, and even 
if they do stick it out the lice will be transferred to 
the chicks. A dust bath should also be provided 
for the setting hen, and the nest and all surround- 
ings must be kept perfectly clean at all times during 
the incubation. Filth breeds vermin and disease. 

Keep the setters away from the rest of the flock; 
feed them grain food, charcoal, grit, and clean, 
fresh water. A little rusty iron dropped in the 
drinking water during this period will act as a 
tonic and keep the hens in good condition. 



CHAPTER IV 

STARTING IN SPRING 

Springtime is without a doubt the best time to 
start in the poultry business. Matured stock can- 
not as a matter of fact be purchased as cheaply then 
as during the fall and early winter months, but 
those contemplating embarking in this vocation at 
this season of the year should obtain either eggs 
for hatching or baby chicks. In either case these 
should be purchased from a reliable breeder, one 
who has pure bred stock of the variety to be 
selected. 

Whatever you do get thoroughbred stock, and 
do not be misled into buying scrub chicks or eggs 
because they are cheaper. There are many reasons 
why good stock should be selected. For market 
purposes the larger breeds will dress to a more 
uniform size and shape. Their plumpness and 
even color of skin will attract special attention and 
will commend them to the buyers. The store- 
keeper who buys poultry will appreciate this uni- 
formity of color, size, and shape, and as a rule will 
pay more for such dressed fowl. 

A mixed flock cannot be fed with as much suc- 
cess for best results as a flock of one breed of 
uniform size and similar habits. Take, for 

26 



STARTING IN SPRING 27 

instance, a small variety such as the Leghorn, 
which requires far different feeding and care than 
the larger varieties, such as the Orpingtpn or light 
Brahma. 

In other words, they don't hitch well together 
and you cannot possibly get the best there is in 
either by permitting them to run together. One 
is more nervous and active, while the other is 
more quiet and less busy. 

What is true of a mixed lot of thoroughbreds is 
equally true of a lot of scrubs, cross bred mongrels, 
which is bound to result in having many different 
shapes, sizes, and colors in the flock. A flock of 
thoroughbred hens of one variety will lay eggs of 
a more uniform color, size, and shape, thus increas- 
ing their market value as a fancy trade product. 

The public, especially that part of the public 
which is willing to pay a fancy price for good things 
to eat, demand eggs of a uniform shape and color. 
Such eggs cannot possibly be obtained from a mixed 
flock of fowls. 

Thoroughbred poultry, in keeping with all other 
kinds of live stock, has been bred for years and 
years with certain definite objects in view. We 
have breeds which are especially adapted for table 
use, while others have been bred along the line of 
egg production only. 

Take the Leghorns, Campines, and Minorcas — ^ 
where can we find their equal among the scrub 



28 STARTING IN SPRING 

fowls, not alone as perfect egg machines, but non- 
setters as well? It has taken time and skillful 
breeding to bring them up to their present standard 
of productiveness, and the breeders are still improv- 
ing them in this particular line. 

When you buy common eggs of unknown breed 
and hatch chicks from such eggs, you do not know 
what they will mature into, whereas, if you buy 
eggs laid by hens from some known breed you 
know, to a certain extent, whether you will have 
egg producers or market fowls. 

Another point which should not be overlooked 
by the novice — when you raise good poultry, bred 
from good stock, you can always sell a few 
cockerels and surplus pullets at a price consider- 
ably better than that to be obtained from the 
butcher or grocer. If you are only a small back- 
yarder you stand a show of selling good birds to 
your neighbors at fancy poultry prices. 

The appearance of your uniform flock will bring 
about these sales. Such flocks are noticed and com- 
mented upon by almost everybody, whereas, on 
the other hand, a flock of scrubs or mixed breeds 
never receives as much as a passing notice. On a 
green, well kept place in the suburbs what is more 
attractive and is more noticed by the passer-by than 
a flock of hens all of uniform color and general 
makeup? It adds an air of prosperity to the 
surroundings. 



STARTING IN SPRING 29 

Should you decide to purchase eggs, and these 
eggs are to be intrusted to setting hens, care must 
be exercised in the selection of such hens. A wild, 
scary hen may result in broken eggs or a forsaken 
nest. A good plan is to try the hen out for four 
or five days on glass eggs, and then study her habits 
as closely as possible. 

The purchasing of baby chicks has become popu- 
lar in the last few years, and many prefer to buy 
these instead of the eggs for hatching. A common 
mistake made by the amateur poultry keeper is to 
buy those quoted at the lowest prices. Hatcheries 
which quote baby chicks at ridiculously low prices 
either hatch these from eggs laid by inferior stock, 
or the chicks lack vitality. A reliable poultry raiser 
can always find a ready market for baby chicks at 
a fair price. 

My advice is, if you cannot afford to buy good 
chicks better buy eggs for hatching. It is a waste 
of time and money to buy the inferior grades. 



CHAPTER V 



STARTING IN FALL 



The fall months offer some advantages to start a 
poultry plant At that season of the year good 
breeding stock can be purchased at a reasonable 
price, owing to the fact that poultry raisers are in 
most cases compelled to sell some of the same 
year's breeders to make room for the growing 
stock, — the pullets and cockerels that were hatched 
in spring. 

To start in the pursuit of poultry raising in the 
fall of the year, it is necessary to purchase matur-ed 
stock. Before this is done it is absolutely important 
that some thought be given to the subject. The 
right start means much to the future success of the 
undertaking. 

First of all you must decide wisely on the breed 
you wish to keep. There are many good breeds 
of poultry, and most every standard variety has 
its many friends, who are always ready to tell of 
the superior merits of their respective favorites. 
The beginner, if he has spent any time at all read- 
ing up on the subject, has no doubt had his 
thoughts filled with many convincing arguments as 
to the best breeds, etc. In fact, the opinions 

30 



STARTING IN FALL 



31 



expressed are so varied and cover so many breeds 
that he is bound to be puzzled in choosing a variety. 

There is only one to decide this most important 
question, and that one is the beginner himself. 
Select the variety which you most admire, provid- 
ing, of course, such variety meets the requirements 
necessary for the particular branch of the business 
you wish to follow. For instance, if you only want 
eggs and many of them, select one of the lighter 
breeds, such as Leghorns, Minorcas, Spanish, 
Campines, Hamburgs, Anconas, Polish, etc. ; if 
only meat, select the heavy breeds, such as Brahmas, 
Cochins, Langshans, etc.; if both eggs and meat 
your choice should fall on the medium breeds, which 
include the American varieties, such as Plymouth 
Rocks, Wyandottes, Rhode Island Reds, etc., or 
some of the foreign breeds, such as the Orping- 
tons, Dorkings, Faverolles, Houdans, etc. By mak- 
ing your selections according to the foregoing 
classifications, and choosing therefrom the breed 
which strikes your fancy the most, you cannot go 
far wrong. 

Do not attempt to start with several varieties, 
one is quite sufficient and two should be the limit 
of your ambitions. Beginners who start with a 
half dozen varieties very seldom make a success 
of any one. Different breeds require different care, 
housing, and feeding, and it will be to your interest 
to put all your thoughts on one breed to start with 



^32 STARTING IN FALL 

and master the handling of this one breed before 
tackling more. 

Another common mistake made by beginners is 
in exercising little judgment in selecting stock — 
buying promiscuously without any regard to the 
strain or future ancestors. Some even go so far 
as to purchase their foundation stock from the 
crates at their grocers and butchers, selecting there- 
from birds having the appearance of the variety 
v^hich they intend to keep. In selecting your 
breeders in such a haphazard manner, a hundred 
chances to one you will never make such a flock 
profitable. You may possibly in this way get 
pure bred stock of the variety you want, but only 
get the worst culls, stunted, barren, or disqualified 
specimens of that breed. You cannot expect any- 
thing else as those shipped to the merchant are as 
a rule discarded birds, fit for only one purpose — 
to eat. 

By all means buy from a breeder, one who has a 
good vigorous strain and one who has given his 
breeding stock the proper care and attention. You 
cannot expect healthy matured fowls from chicks 
which had much hardship to endure, possibly over- 
run with lice, or improperly fed and watered, or 
not supplied with the necessary heat during their 
first few weeks. Buy from a responsible breeder 
so that you will get just what you pay for and 
ofttimes a little more. When writing such a breeder 



STARTING IN FALL 33 

tell him that you are a beginner and give him an 
idea, if possible, just about how much you wish to 
invest in breeding stock. If the breeder is honest 
he will take an interest in you because you are a 
beginner and nine chances out of every ten he will 
give you a fair quotation and give you full value 
for every dollar invested with him. Of course, 
there are some who will, if they get a chance, fleece 
a beginner, but such unfair breeders are few and 
far between. Poultry raisers who treat their 
customers dishonestly are soon found out, with the 
result that their advertisements will not be accepted 
by the better class of papers. 

To start in the poultry business in a small way 
it is advisable to purchase from some reliable 
breeder a pen of good stock birds. It will give 
the beginner an opportunity to study the habits 
of poultry, the care and attention necessary for 
their welfare, and give him an idea as to approxi- 
mate cost of their keep. Too often amateurs start 
raising poultry with the idea that every dollar 
derived from the poultry plant is clear profit, not 
giving the feed bills and other necessary expenses 
the least thought. Such beginners are very apt to 
become discouraged with the business before they 
have fairly started, and as a result they lose interest 
and quit with a loss. To feed poultry economically 
and yet properly is not child's play, it means study 
and careful management. Poultry writers may tell 



34 STARTING IN FALL 

you to feed so and so much to a flock of so many 
hens, but if you follow such advice to the letter 
you will in time find that advice is in most cases 
not practical. There is only one sure way to feed 
poultry properly and that is gained only by practical 
experience with the flock. That is why I say buy 
a pen of birds to start with and thus gain knowledge 
in a practical way. 

By buying a pen of fowls in the fall you have an 
opportunity to get some strictly fresh eggs from 
your own hens during the winter months, when 
such eggs are difficult to purchase. To be rewarded 
with some nice eggs within a short time of start- 
ing to keep poultry is encouragement enough to the 
average beginner to spur him on in the work he has 
undertaken, not to mention the possibilities of imme- 
diate profits from the little flock. Encouragement 
is what a beginner needs, something to show for 
the work and time put into the enterprise. 

In buying the nucleus for your poultry yard care 
must be exercised in what you buy. Remember 
you are laying the foundation for your future flock, 
and a blunder now may mean future trouble and 
ultimate failure. Study well what breed you want 
to keep, hasty action may result in selecting a 
variety which would not meet your fancy later on, 
and possibly a breed which is not adapted to the 
conditions and surroundings of your particular 
plant. 



STARTING IN FALL 35 

After the breed has been finally decided upon 
efforts should be put forward to obtain the best 
possible at the price you can afford to pay, and 
care taken to get birds free from disease and of 
vigorous stock. By buying from a responsible 
breeder much of the difficulties in these particulars 
can be avoided, and in most cases the beginner 
will get full value for the money invested. 

Never buy a bird which has any deformity, such 
as a crooked breast bone, a crippled foot, a turned 
under toe, a wry tail, or any other bodily defect. 
Fowls which have been stunted in their growth, 
whether from disease or neglect, are a bad purchase 
and are expensive at almost any price. 

The early fall also is an excellent time to put 
up poultry houses, fencing and other necessary 
things required for the proper housing and care- 
taking. The weather is ideal for such work, in 
fact more so than the early spring when the heavy 
rains are liable to retard operations along this line. 

Even if you are only keeping poultry for the 
eggs and meat it is advisable to pay some attention 
to the fancy side of the business. It creates more 
interest in the work, and at the same time makes 
it possible for you to get a much better price for 
the surplus cockerels, the eggs, and the baby chicks, 
which are sold to others interested. If you only 
keep a small flock with the sole object in view of 
supplying the poultry products for the home table, 



36 STARTING IN FALL 

by paying some attention to the fancy end of it you 
can, without doubt, sell enough surplus fowls and 
eggs for hatching to pay all the running expenses of 
the small plant, and still have a surplus besides. 
Many backyarders are following this plan and doing 
nicely. 

If the fancy side is to have any attention at all 
you should pay a little better price for your founda- 
tion stock, study the standard requirements of that 
particular breed, and make your yearly selections 
from the young stock according to points of the 
American standard of perfection, and not use your 
personal hobby on a certain point as "just the 
thing." Good thoroughbred poultry is attractive, 
be the breed what it may, and at the same time it 
is more productive. Utility and fancy go hand in 
hand, providing neither is overdone. If it were 
not for our carefully selected standard varieties we 
would not have attained the wonderful egg records 
attained by the American hen today. 

If possible beginners should attend some good 
poultry show, where the many different varieties 
are on exhibition. There is nothing so educational 
to the poultry raiser as these shows, and more 
knowledge can be obtained on the various breeds 
in this manner than by any other. 



CHAPTER VI 



EARLY HATCHING 



March should be the busy month in the poultry 
plant. It is virtually the opening of the breeding 
season. There is much to do for those who realize 
the importance of having as many early hatched 
pullets as possible. The old saying is "the March 
pullet the big money maker," and this is especially 
true in the larger breeds, the kind that do not 
develop so rapidly. March pullets will lay, or 
rather should lay, early in the fall, just about the 
time the old hens are beginning to molt, and 
naturally stop laying. The cockerels hatched dur- 
ing this month will make early summer broilers, or 
early fall roasters, hence commanding a better 
price than those hatched later. 

Those catering to the fancy side of the business 
will find the March hatched birds more valuable 
both as breeders and as a salable proposition. Early 
hatched fancy fowls are much in demand for the 
fall fairs and early shows, and also have a decided 
advantage in competition at the winter poultry 
exhibitions. They are more developed in the 
various points which go to make up the particular 
breed to which they belong. 

It is not so difficult to hatch the early chicks, but 

Z7 



38 EARLY HATCHING 

to raise them requires special attention and care. 
Winter is only in hiding, even though the days be 
moderate, and sudden drops in temperature should 
be looked for during the entire months of March 
and April. Take no chances, prepare for these 
conditions, have your baby chicks protected from 
such changes in climatic conditions. A little precau- 
tion in this direction may save you many dollars; 
exposure on one night may kill more chicks than you 
could hatch in a three weeks' run of the incubator. 
Watchfulness and forethought are a necessity in 
successful poultry raising. 

This is the time of the year when hatching eggs 
are in big demand and herein lies the temptation 
offered to poultry breeders to sell their eggs at 
good prices. The cash looks attractive and ofttimes 
influences their business judgment, resulting in an 
oversale of the early hatching eggs, leaving them 
no eggs for their own incubators. Such poultry 
breeders fail to realize that these early eggs are 
worth just as much to them for hatching purposes 
as they are to others. 

A good idea is to figure out approximately how 
many eggs you intend to set this season and then 
apportion so many for each of the following months 
— March, April, and May. By following this plan 
there is not much danger of overselling and the 
breeder will not disappoint himself in his own 
hatches. To sell all the early eggs and depend on 



EARLY HATCHING 39 

the late ones for your own hatches is poor policy, 
and is bound to result in a loss to the plant. 

A word of advice to those who hatch with hens. 
Avoid having too many small flocks of chicks, of 
various ages and sizes. It is unwise for any one to 
so plan his hatching and brooding as to be com- 
pelled to look after a dozen or more flocks consisting 
of six to twelve chicks each. It is evidence of lack 
of system and results in saddling upon oneself a 
greater amount of work to properly look after such 
flocks. 

The fact of the matter is a person can take care 
of a flock of twenty- five as easily and as quickly as 
a flock of ten. Wherever possible combine small 
flocks of the same sizes and ages. 

It takes planning ahead to bring about this result, 
but such things can be easily accomplished by setting 
a number of hens at the same time. Do not attempt 
to combine flocks with decided differences in sizes, 
for the smaller ones are bound to be at a great 
disadvantage, which will result undoubtedly in 
stunting them for the balance of their lives. 

Do not overcrowd your breeding stock at this 
season of the year; give them plenty of room, exer- 
cise, and sunshine. Do not force their laying 
capacity. What you want now is fertile eggs. It 
is not now a question of how many eggs your hens 
lay, but are those eggs fertile and hatchable? Will 
they bring forth good strong chicks with lots of 



40 EARLY HATCHING 

vitality? Give them plenty of green food. They 
must have that in order to bring the right results. 

See to it that your hens are not too fat. Fat 
hens will not as a rule lay many fertile eggs. Do 
not let them get lousy. Examine closely for these 
pests, and if any are found use the louse powder 
freely. Just because the fowls are running out do 
not neglect to provide a dusting bath in a dry place 
protected from the rains. 

Gather the eggs often so that they will not be 
chilled, and do not keep them either in a too hot or 
a too cold room. Much of the success in the 
hatches depends upon the keeping and handling of 
the eggs beforehand. 

Clean quarters, lots of fresh air, and good pro- 
tection from the cold spring rains are what the 
breeding pens must have. The special care and 
attention bestowed upon them now bring reward in 
full measure. 

Always keep in mind the fact that to make 
poultry raising profitable it is absolutely necessary 
to build for the future. In other words, we work 
today for results tomorrow. 



CHAPTER VII 

EARLY FERTILITY 

During the month of March there are always 
many complaints about eggs not hatching. The 
reasons for them are many, some of which could be 
avoided if the amateur poultry breeder would pay 
more attention to the laws of nature. 

April, May, and June are the natural months for 
domesticated hens to lay and brood. During those 
months the hens get the proper amount of sun- 
shine, vegetation, and other necessities which pro- 
mote conditions ideal for productiveness. If we 
want earlier hatches, and most of us do, it is then 
only natural that we must supply these seasonable 
conditions in an artificial way. Those who neglect 
to do this will not get a large percentage of hatch- 
able eggs, and those that do hatch are liable to 
produce a chick lacking in vitality. 

To produce the right kind of early hatching eggs 
it is necessary to have a properly constructed hen- 
house, one which is well protected from the fierce 
north and west winds, windows facing the south 
affording lots of sunshine, and also fresh air both 
during the day and night. A well protected scratch- 
ing shed is also advisable, but this can be dispensed 
with, providing, of course, the henhouse proper is 

41 



42 EARLY FERTILITY 

of sufficient size to afford comfortable exercise to 
the flock. 

One of the common mistakes is to overestimate 
the capacity of a henhouse. Amateurs in their 
desire to get as many eggs as possible from a flock 
confined in a limited space are apt to kee^ more 
hens than they should, with the result of less eggs, 
infertile eggs, sickly chicks, lice, and disease in the 
flock. My advice is to keep less and keep them 
comfortable. 

The next point to consider in the production of 
early fertile eggs is the supplying of vegetable 
matter of such a quality and in such quantities as 
they would be able to find when running at large 
later in the season. 

This in many cases is a difficult problem with 
the inexperienced poultry keeper, who is not versed 
in the modern methods used by breeders to supply 
such vegetation. One of the easiest green foods to 
produce is sprouted oats, and it makes an excellent 
feed for both laying hens and chicks. This can be 
produced in racks in any warm room or basement, 
and at a cost within the reach of every one. One 
strong recommendation for sprouted oats is that it 
can be grown rapidly and can be fed to the hens 
fresh every day. Aside from that, it is tender and 
juicy and much relished. 

Next to sprouted oats I would recommend well 



EARLY FERTILITY 



43 



cured, short cut alfalfa, which has been scalded the 
night before and left to soak until morning, when 
the water should be squeezed out before it is fed to 
the hens. Mangel roots, turnips, raw potatoes, cab- 
bage, etc., are also used quite extensively for the 
same purpose, with good results. 

Hens which have been forced to the limit for egg 
production during the winter months are not in con- 
dition to lay eggs that are strong in fertility. Many 
condiments and so-called " laying foods " have made 
many flocks worthless as breeders. It is only 
natural that fowls which have been overworked by 
artificial methods for three or four months lose a 
large percentage of their vitality, and a loss of 
vitality will surely have its effect upon the spring 
crop of eggs which are to be used for hatching. 
Even if they should hatch, one cannot expect 
healthy, robust chicks from parents which are in a 
weakened condition. 

Many an inexperienced poultry keeper will now 
pay the penalty for trying to force the eggs from 
the hens when the prices for such a commodity 
were high and the demand lively. My advice to 
such is buy eggs for hatching instead of using 
your own. 

The fertility will run low if the hens are too fat. 
To get the best results from the hatches the hens 
must be in the pink of condition, which means 



44 EARLY FERTILITY 

healthy, vigorous, active, and free from lice. A 
lousy hen cannot possibly be at her best; lice are 
bound to sap the vitality from any hen. 

Most poultry breeders selling eggs guarantee 
about 75 per cent fertility after April i, and some 
require that the eggs be tested before the sixteenth 
day, all infertile ones to be returned not later than 
that date. If such eggs are found to be infertile 
the number making the full 75 per cent will be sent 
to the purchaser. 

Any responsible poultryman nowadays wants the 
eggs sent out to hatch as many chicks as possible, 
and is always well pleased when customers report 
big hatches. The best reputation and advertisement 
a breeder can get in an ordinary way is to have eggs 
from his pens show strong fertility. It is therefore 
of vital importance to the poultry raiser to do every- 
thing in his power to bring this about. Experiments 
along the poultry line have demonstrated that nature 
can be assisted in many ways, and the production 
of fertile eggs is no exception. 



CHAPTER VIII 



LATE HATCHING 



May is one of the best months to start the rearing 
of chicks in an artificial way. The reason for this is 
that weather conditions are very unsettled during the 
early part of the season, and unless the poultry raiser 
is fully equipped to meet such conditions the losses 
from the early hatches are apt to be many. During 
May the chicks can be put into an outdoor brooder 
and given a chance to run on the ground or grass, 
which is most beneficial to them. Chicks reared in 
the open air from the beginning are, as a rule, more 
hardy than those brought up like hothouse plants 
in warm rooms and on board floors. They develop 
quicker and are less liable to disease, two' very essen- 
tial items in profitable poultry raising. 

Pullets hatched in May will, if given the proper 
care, feed, and attention, lay the following Novem- 
ber, when eggs are demanding good prices, and 
when the old hens have not as yet fully recovered 
from the molt. The experienced breeders of Leg- 
horns or other Mediterranean varieties as a rule 
select the May hatched chicks for their own breed- 
ing and laying pens. Experience has taught them 
that puHets hatched during this month develop into 
" paye^rs." 

45 



46 LATE HATCHING 

When it comes to the heavy varieties, such as the 
various breeds of Asiatics, Cochins, Brahmas, etc., 
the preference is given to the earher hatches, but 
not so with the smaller breeds. Even in the 
American varieties, among which are the Plymouth 
Rocks, Rhode Island Reds, and Wyandottes, the 
May hatched chicks are very popular. True, the 
American varieties do not develop as rapidly as the 
Leghorns and other smaller varieties, but never- 
theless the May pullet, if given the right chance, 
will lay before the snow flies. 

If the eggs from stock with the proper health 
and vigor are used for hatching, and if the chicks 
when hatched receive that attention necessary for 
their steady growth and development, there is no 
question that May hatched chicks from the Amer- 
ican breeds are very desirable. They have many 
things in their favor, chief among which are 
enough natural advantages to make them grow more 
rapidly than those hatched during an earlier period 
of the season. Sunshine, air, fresh soil, green grass, 
and natural surroundings will do wonders for the 
newly hatched chicks, and one week under such con- 
ditions will bring about more development . than 
two weeks of close confinement indoors, with less 
air, little sunshine, no tender grasses, and hard 
boards to run on. 

Artificial rearing of chicks does not mean that 
the chicks can be successfully deprived of all things 



LATE HATCHING 47 

nature intended they should have. Artificial 
methods are only successful when coupled with 
natural surroundings, conditions, and feeds. To 
carry artificial methods to any extreme is bound 
to result in poor results, followed by a condemna- 
tion of the artificial hatching and rearing of chicks. 
Most of those poultry raisers who have tried both 
methods of incubation, and have found the old hen 
preferable, have been extremists who have carried 
the artificial methods to such a point where reason 
ceases. The incubator and brooder can do wonder- 
ful things, but they cannot supply every condition 
nature intended, unless assisted. The sooner the 
novice comes to this conclusion the sooner he will 
find himself on the road to successful artificial 
incubation and brooding. 

No matter if the eggs come from the most vigor- 
ous stock and are possessed of the strongest germ, 
if the chicks are not given the chance to get as 
close to nature as possible, confined perhaps in a 
broodhouse without an outdoor run, those chicks 
cannot develop into strong pullets and cockerels. 
It is surprising how many chicks are annually 
brought up under such unfavorable conditions, and 
some by poultry raisers who should know better. 
Is it any wonder some poultry breeders are always 
complaining of poor hatches, of weakly, sickly 
chicks? The wonder is that nature does not rebel 
altogether against such unreasonableness. 



48 LATE HATCHING 

Another advantage in the later hatches is the 
fact that the fertiHty of the eggs runs higher on an 
average. Every well regulated, properly mated, and 
properly fed flock should during April and May 
average not less than 80 per cent fertility. 

Beginners need not hesitate about buying day old 
chicks in May. They have nature with them, which 
is an item well worth considering. 

Even fall hatching is profitable, as pullets hatched 
in the early fall will start laying the early part of 
the following spring, and will develop into heavy 
layers the next summer. Southern poultry raisers 
do considerable hatching during the fall months, and 
seem to have good success. The fall-hatched cock- 
erels can be marketed as early broilers, and both 
sexes can be marketed as dressed squab broilers 
when weighing ten to sixteen ounces. These squab 
broilers are in big demand by the high-class restau- 
rants and hotels, and as a rule bring the best prices 
during February and March. To carry on the suc- 
cessful hatching of fall chicks, it is absolutely neces- 
sary to use incubators and brooders, as broody hens 
are not obtainable during the fall months. 



CHAPTER IX 

UTILITY AND FANCY POULTRY 

To make the most out of a back yard or small 
poultry plant it is advisable to cater both to the 
utility and fancy side of the business. On a small 
scale they work well together and make it possible 
to have a steady income the year around. The fancy 
trade is seasonable and if no attention is paid to the 
utility end there will be several months in the year 
when everything goes out and nothing comes in. 
For the beginner with little capital the expense item 
in the off season will present a hardship and ofttimes 
discourage him in his endeavors. He must find 
some way to overcome this drain upon the small 
treasury. The marketing of table eggs and poultry 
will solve this problem satisfactorily. 

Beginners who are contemplating the breeding of 
a fancy strain should therefore not overlook the 
utility qualifications of the breed or breeds to be 
chosen. There are some varieties of poultry which 
are ornamental and nothing else. They are beauti- 
ful in appearance, exceptionally pleasing to the eye, 
but as layers or table fowls they are far from 
profitable. 

Poultry fanciers, who raise poultry for pleasure 
only and who have the necessary money to spend 

49 



50 UTILITY AND FANCY POULTRY 

on such a hobby, can keep such ornaments of the 
poultry family, but those who must of necessity 
depend upon the flock to pay the feed bills, 
etc., will find it advantageous to combine both 
fancy and utility qualifications when making the 
selections, 

A poultry raiser who depends upon both branches 
of the business will cull his flock more closely and 
thus help to improve the quality of standard 
varieties both for fancy and utility purposes. Upon 
him we must depend in a great measure to improve 
the laying qualities of our many breeds of pure bred 
poultry, and to combine both beauty and utility in 
the same hens. 

All of this leads me back to the oft repeated 
advice, never start with scrubs or a mixed breed. 
If finances are limited buy less fowls, eggs, or baby 
chicks to start with, but whatever you buy let it 
be a good breed from a good strain and from a 
reliable breeder. To buy anything else will result 
unprofitably and disappoint in the end. The start 
means all and upon this depends your future suc- 
cess or failure as the case may be. 

Fancy buildings are not necessary; better spend 
less for these and more for the occupants of such 
buildings. Remember it is the stock which brings 
in the dollars and not the houses and yards. 

There is an old saying in poultry raising which 
always holds good, "Good stock for the best 



UTILITY AND FANCY POULTRY 51 

results." Many overlook this oft repeated advice. 
They do not grasp its full meaning or its importance. 
Some beginners who are about to embark in the 
utility branch of the business think this advice is 
given by breeders of good stock as an incentive to 
the inexperienced to buy their fancy stock. This is 
far from the truth. 

The breeding and improving of thoroughbred 
stock — cattle, hogs, horses, sheep, or other domes- 
ticated animals — has improved the marketable 
quality; it has also materially increased the value 
of the stock upon the farm. Pure bred cows pro- 
duce more milk than the ordinary scrub cows, the 
best beef comes from the well bred cattle, and the 
highest grade pork comes from the so-called fancy 
hogs. 

This is only natural when one takes into con- 
sideration the fact that well bred stock is carefully 
selected and mated. The finest and most vigorous 
are selected for breeding purposes and such stock is 
generally kept under better and more sanitary 
conditions. 

What is true in this respect in other live stock 
is also true in poultry. The best individual and 
pen Qgg records made at experimental stations were 
made by thoroughbred poultry of some of the 
standard breeds. The most attractive, uniform 
eggs sold upon the market or supplied to private 
trade are laid by pure bred hens, and the plumpest 



52 UTILITY AND FANCY POULTRY 

and juiciest fowls come as a rule from the farms 
and poultry yards keeping nothing but well bred 
poultry. 

In breeding for the show room, as well as for the 
market, more attention must be given to the proper 
mating of the breeding pens, but this extra effort on 
the part of the poultry-keeper will be rewarded by 
bigger profits and a better flock of fowls in every 
way. 



CHAPTER X 

CONVENIENT EQUIPMENT 

It is a natural trait of mankind to do things which 
are convenient. Convenience in our daily routine 
tends to make our work more enjoyable. Con- 
venience saves time and tends towards efficiency. A 
carpenter without the proper tools could not build 
a house as quickly and as well as he could with the 
right tools. This holds good in the keeping of 
poultry. 

There is a difference in just merely keeping 
poultry and keeping it properly, and it may be made 
a pleasure or a burden. Convenience tends towards 
making poultry keeping a pleasure. It saves time, 
labor, and often disappointments. It helps to do 
things well which otherwise might only be half 
done. 

First of all the poultry keeper should have a con- 
venient place to keep poultry — a house sufficiently 
large for the number of hens sheltered therein; not 
necessarily a fancy house, but one that is cozy, 
properly ventilated, well roofed, free from drafts, 
handy to get into, easily cleaned, and with good 
interior arrangements. Such a henhouse, be it ever 
so cheaply constructed, will make a convenient home 
for the flock. 

S3 



54 CONVENIENT EQUIPMENT 

Next is the run or yard, where the hens spend 
most of their time during favorable weather. This 
is the summer exercising place and playground, 
supplying the fowls with two important necessities 
for their health and productiveness — fresh air and 
mother earth to scratch in. 

Personally I prefer a good sized runway, but it 
is not an absolute necessity to have this so large. Of 
course, if the run is small it must be more often 
cleaned and spaded so as to keep it fresh and sani- 
tary. Whatever the size of the yard, it should be 
well drained, free from low places where water will 
stand, and free from soil which will bake hard 
during hot weather and get muddy after a rain. 

The best soil for a run is one which absorbs the 
water, leaving the top soil quite dry shortly after 
a rain. I do not advise using cinders or ashes as 
a covering for the yards, although it is sometimes 
necessary to resort to them where the soil is 
unfavorable. 

Where space permits, it is a good idea to have a 
double run for each pen, which permits the seeding 
down of the runs with oats or other quick growing 
grains, and then alternating the fowls from one run 
to the other. By this plan the hens can help them- 
selves to their green food, and they certainly do 
enjoy such freshly grown tender grasses. 

After the house and the runs are completed equip- 
ment necessary for the operation of the little poultry 



CONVENIENT EQUIPMENT 55 

plant must come in for a big share of consideration. 
The equipment is the "tools" with which the 
work is carried on, and upon the careful selec- 
tion and installation of equipment depends the 
facilities for doing the work with the least burden 
and inconvenience. 

There are many devices which can be done away 
with, not being absolutely necessary to keep poultry 
successfully, but on the other hand there are labor 
saving devices which save both time and work, and 
incidentally increase the pleasure of taking care of 
the flock. Among these are the various kinds of 
drinking fountains, automatic feed hoppers, nest 
boxes, feed troughs, grit and shell boxes, lice kill- 
ing machines, automatic exercisers, lice proof roost 
supports, etc. 

Every year there are new poultry appliances put 
upon the market. Some of them have real merit, 
while others are only a luxury, and absolutely 
unnecessary. Beginners should be careful what 
they buy along this line, for much money can be 
wasted on useless devices. It pays to buy equip- 
ment which saves time and labor, as it is just as 
important to be up to the times in the poultry busi- 
ness as any other line. The question of how much 
a beginner can afford to invest enters into the ques- 
tion of what equipment to buy, but I would advise 
stretching a point to buy something durable and 
reliable. 



56 CONVENIENT EQUIPMENT 

No Other equipment about a poultry plant needs 
to be selected with as much care as an incubator and 
brooder. Thousands of eggs are wasted every year 
through the use of inferior incubators, and thou- 
sands of chicks die annually from being forced to 
dwell in a poorly constructed brooder. 

It may cost a few dollars more to buy a good 
incubator to start with, but the saving in eggs 
which are apt to be spoiled in a poor machine will 
more than make up the difference in the cost during 
the first season*s run, not to mention the time and 
work wasted. 

A good machine is also more convenient to 
operate ; it does not require constant care and watch- 
ing. Such an incubator can be properly adjusted 
and regulated before the eggs are put in, and in 
most cases there will be little variation throughout 
the period of incubation. A machine which must 
be looked after during all hours of the night, as 
well as during the daytime, is a nuisance and 
undesirable. 

To sum it all up, good, reliable equipment is 
absolutely necessary for profitable poultry raising. 



CHAPTER XI 



NATURAL INCUBATION 



Incubating eggs in the natural way requires some 
study on the part of the amateur poultry raiser. 
The first essential to success is the selection of a 
reliable brood hen and the construction and loca- 
tion of a suitable nest. Every "clucky" hen is not 
always to be depended upon, and therefore care 
should be exercised in making the selection. 

Nonsetting varieties of fowls such as Leghorns, 
Minorcas, etc., may, when in too fatty condition, 
show signs of being clucky, but they cannot be 
depended upon to carry the work of incubation to 
a successful conclusion. Select a hen from a breed 
which is known to be a good broody variety, such 
as the Rhode Island Reds, Plymouth Rocks, Wyan- 
dottes, Orpingtons, etc. Do not select the heavy, 
feather legged varieties, such as the Cochins or 
Brahmas. They are as a rule too clumsy and very 
apt to break some of the eggs or trample on the 
chicks when hatched. 

The next important detail connected with this 
work is the construction of a suitable nesting box, 
not necessarily ornamental, but one which will 
assist the hen in her endeavors to rear a family 
of healthy chicks. Choose a box which is roomy 

57 



58 NATURAL INCUBATION 

and quite deep, so as to give the hen plenty of 
room to change her position on the nest without 
breaking some of the eggs. Have it deep so that 
the nesting material will not be so easily carried 
out. It is a good idea to coat this box with white- 
wash or wash it with a strong solution of disinfect- 
ant. Either application will make the box both 
sanitary and mite proof. 

The next step is to prepare the nest, which is 
also a very important matter. Place a few inches 
of damp soil or sod, cut three inches thick, in the 
bottom of the box, upon which should be placed a 
good thickness of clean straw or sweet hay. 

Place the nest box away from the balance of the 
flock, so that the cluck will not be disturbed by the 
rooster or other hens. If possible select a secluded 
spot away from dogs and other things which may 
molest her. The best plan I know of is to have a 
small building constructed for this purpose, and 
arranged in such a manner that it will be possible 
to set a half dozen or even a dozen hens at the same 
time. It is much better to set several hens at the 
same time, and thus have several broods of the same 
age. By following this plan it offers the operator 
a chance to switch the chicks from one hen to 
another if such a thing is necessary. Another 
advantage in setting more than one hen at a time, 
one may have a small hatch from one of the hens, 
and in that case the small brood can be added to 



NATURAL INCUBATION 59 

another hen's brood to rear. It is also very advis- 
able to have the flocks of chicks of as uniform an 
age as possible. 

A medium sized hen can cover from nine to 
fifteen eggs. This same hen can cover six or seven 
turkey eggs, nine to eleven duck eggs, and four to 
five goose eggs. Bantams as a rule can only cover 
eight to nine of their own eggs. 

Nest boxes for setting hens should be constructed 
in such a manner that they may be opened or closed 
as necessity demands. Before setting the hen the 
nesting material and boxes should be well sprinkled 
with insect powder. This operation should be 
repeated at intervals of eight days during the 
progress of the hatch, thus assisting the prevention 
of lice and mites. A dust bath should also be pro- 
vided in easy reach of the broody hen. 

It is advisable to keep the hen shut up in the nest, 
allowing her to come off for feed, water, and dust 
bath. If the hen is restless darken the nest as much 
as possible and locate her where she will not be 
disturbed by any one or anything. 

When the hen leaves the nest for her daily feed, 
examine the nest for broken and soiled eggs. Foul 
eggs will affect the hatch. Feed the hen on hard 
g^ain. Soft feed and wet mashes produce bowel 
trouble. Always feed the grain in hoppers and 
supply the hen with fresh water from a clean vessel. 

The period of incubation for fowls is twenty-one 



6o NATURAL INCUBATION 

days, for ducks, turkeys, and guineas twenty-eight 
days, and geese from thirty to thirty-five days. 
Small active varieties of fowls, such as Leghorns, 
often hatch in less than twenty-one days. Hatches 
may be delayed a day or two by the action of the 
hen. She may not sit on the eggs closely the first 
day, or she may forsake the nest too long during 
the hatch. The latter may also cause weakness in 
the chicks. During cold weather the eggs may be 
chilled in fifteen minutes, while in warm weather 
the hen may forsake her nest for hours without 
materially affecting the hatch. 

To secure the best results from natural incuba- 
tion care must be exercised in selecting the right 
kind of broody hen and in the selection of eggs. 
Then one must pay every attention to the setter's 
welfare during this trying period. The best and 
most diligent setter can be spoiled by neglect, and 
many a poor hatch can be traced to carelessness on 
the part of the operator. 

An important point in selecting a setting hen is 
'to choose one which is quite tame. Wild hens are 
apt to break some of the eggs by becoming startled 
from the least noise, or by jumping from the nest 
when approached. As a rule the old hens make 
better setters than the pullets and should have the 
preference when the selections are made. 

Before the hen is placed upon the nest she should 
be treated to a thorough dusting with some good 



NATURAL INCUBATION 6l 

reliable insect powder. Hold the hen by the legs 
with your left hand and lay her breast upon a piece 
of paper. Sprinkle the powder with a dusting gun 
or from a perforated tin box into the feathers, 
rubbing it in well as you go along. Cover every 
part of her plumage, under the wings, on her back, 
around the vent, and in the hackle. Hold the hen 
down for a minute or two so that the powder can 
take effect and to prevent the hen from shaking the 
powder off. By laying the hen on a piece of paper all 
the powder which has fallen off can be again used, 
thus saving considerable from each application. 

Never set the hen upon the good eggs until she 
has been thoroughly tested out. Put her on some 
china or other dummy eggs for a few days at least 
and watch her actions closely during this tryout. 
Take her off the nest a few times and if she goes 
back and sits closely you may put in the good 
eggs and start operations. This plan is a protection 
to the poultry raiser, as some hens will at times show 
signs of being clucky and then quit again within 
a few days. My idea is to try them out for five 
or six days before counting them as safe. 

Hens proving reliable setters should be marked, so 
that they may easily be recognized when they again 
become *'clucky.*' The best way to mark them is to 
band them and keep a record of the band number. 

It often pays to keep the good setters from oae 
season to another for several years at least. 



62 NATURAL INCUBATION 

^' Always supply the cluck with plenty of fresh 
water, whole corn, grit and charcoal. Have these 
placed conveniently to the nest so that the hen 
will find them promptly when she leaves the nest. 
She should also be provided with a dust bath which 
will assist in keeping down the vermin and keep 
her healthy. 

Always bear in mind that upon the care of the 
setting hen depends much of the success of the 
hatch. 



CHAPTER Xlf 

ARTIFICIAL INCUBATION 

Hatching the artificial way is, with the present 
day efficient incubators, simple to carry on success- 
fully, and offers many advantages over the old way, 
the clucky hen. Of course there are exceptions; 
for instance, the poultry keeper who cares to hatch 
only a few sittings and the one who owing to cir^ 
cumstances has not the proper location for such a 
machine. Aside from these few exceptions every 
poultry raiser should use an incubator. 

A good incubator requires very little time and 
attention. When once set and adjusted it will 
regulate itself, and all the time necessary to be 
devoted to its proper operation is a few minutes each 
morning and each evening. I say good incubators, 
because there are machines made and sold which 
need almost constant watching. Such machines are 
a nuisance, and are the cause for decrying of incu- 
bators by some people. 

Before buying a hatching machine and risking 
your good money and valuable eggs therein, it is 
well that you study and investigate the merits of 
the incubator you have in mind. Do not be misled 
by the advice given by some writers that every 
incubator is all right if it is run right. True, the 

63 



64 ARTIFICIAL INCUBATION 

proper operation of an incubator — a good incubator 
— ^has much to do with the results, but on the other 
hand the operator may follow the directions to the 
most minute details with an improperly con- 
structed machine, and the hatching results will 
still be far from satisfactory. 

There are two general methods used in heating 
the egg chamber — hot air and hot water. There 
are good machines made with both systems, and 
both have their friends and advocates. Some manu- 
facturers make both kinds, and put it up to the 
poultry raiser to do the choosing. The large 
incubators hatching thousands of eggs are all hot 
water machines, and are operated from one heating 
stove. 

The regulator is the most important part of a 
good hatching machine; upon its accuracy depends 
the uniformity of the heat in the egg chamber. A 
poorly constructed regulator is difficult to regulate, 
and is liable to fail in performing its function at 
the most critical time of incubation. A good regu- 
lator must be sensitive and at the same time be 
so constructed that it has the proper amount of 
durability. 

Another feature which is important in an incu- 
bator is the construction of the box itself. It must 
be built so that it will retain the heat, and if made 
of wood it should be well seasoned lumber, properly 
matched, thus eliminating the danger of warping. 



ARTIFICIAL INCUBATION 65 

A machine properly constructed to retain the heat 
will also require less oil or gas to operate, and is 
not quite so much affected by the changes in tem- 
perature in the operating room. 

The most difficult problem confronting the 
operator is the moisture question. My advice on 
this point is to follow the directions given by the 
manufacturer, in addition making due allowances 
for conditions and location of incubator. A good 
hygrometer will assist materially in determining 
whether or not you have the proper amount neces- 
sary for best results. 

Where the heat is supplied by lamp, care must 
be exercised to use one which is not defective. The 
burner must be in perfect condition and the wick 
must be kept properly trimmed. A common mis- 
take made by inexperienced operators is to turn up 
the wick too much, thinking they can heat the 
machine more quickly at the start, but the result 
is a smoked-up machine. Do not try to force the 
machine; it may take a little time to get the egg- 
chamber properly heated but it is the only reliable 
way to get the machine under way. 

Poultry raisers who have gas piped upon their 
premises should by all means use it instead of oil; 
it is cleaner and saves lots of work. In some of the 
smaller towns it may happen that the pressure on 
the gas is not always the same, hence I would advise 
making a thorough test before going to the expense 



66 ARTIFICIAL INCUBATION 

of making the necessary connections with the feed- 
ing pipes. Some of the larger poultry farms have 
small gas plants of their own, from which they heat 
the incubators and indoor brooders. Electricity is 
also used to a limited extent for heating incubators 
and indoor brooders, in which case special machines 
built for this purpose must be obtained. 

There is one thing in connection with the success- 
ful operation of an incubator which must be perfect, 
and that one little thing is the thermometer. An 
inaccurate instrument will cause all kinds of trouble, 
and is ofttimes the direct cause for unsuccessful 
hatches. Be sure the thermometer is not cracked 
and that it has been properly tested. Another good 
idea is to have an extra thermometer on hand at 
all times, so as to be prepared in case of a break 
or something going wrong with the one in use. 

Never use a cheap, inferior oil; it is poor econ- 
omy. A low grade oil is liable to make the lamp 
smoke, and will not give the nice, even flame of the 
better grades of oil. Always use the best to be had, 
and be on the safe side. 

Great care should be exercised in selecting eggs 
for hatching, whether they are to be set under a 
hen or placed in an incubator. To obtain the best 
results eggs must be obtained from healthy, vigorous 
breeding stock, and must be freshly laid, two weeks 
old being the limit. The best temperature for keep- 
ing eggs is from 40 to 65 degrees, and if an incu- 



ARTIFICIAL INCUBATION 67 

bator is used, it is advisable to turn the eggs 
every day. 

It is better to select eggs of a uniform size for 
each setting, and all other eggs should be discarded. 
Some breeders even go so far as to advocate setting 
eggs of only one variety in a machine at a time. 
This theory may hold good in some cases. For 
instance, the eggs of Leghorns, coming from vigor- 
ous stock, will hatch a day sooner than eggs of 
the heavier breeds. On the other hand, I know 
of successful hatches in incubators containing both 
hen and duck eggs. One poultry raiser I know of 
set a machine with seventy-five hen and forty duck 
eggs, from which he hatched sixty-eight chicks and 
thirty-seven ducklings. The duck eggs required 
four weeks for incubation. They were put into the 
incubator a week before the hen eggs, so as to make 
the hatch come off more uniformly. 

In setting an incubator avoid overcrowding. It 
is sometimes very tempting to put some eggs on the 
top of a full tray, but in nine cases out of ten it 
turns out very unsatisfactory. 

Before placing the eggs in the incubator have the 
machine regulated and in good running order. After 
the eggs have been thoroughly warmed a little 
adjustment of the regulator may be necessary, but 
not enough to cause much alarm. 

Many beginners make the mistake of not read- 
ing the manufacturer's directions for operating the 



68 ARTIFICIAL INCUBATION 

machine. They overlook something, and generally 
it turns out to be one of the most important details. 
All machines are not run on the same principle, 
and if the closest attention is paid to the manufac- 
turer's instructions, giving careful attention to every 
detail, you will get better results. 

A point very often overlooked is the regular 
trimming of the wick and keeping the burner clean. 
Some of the other things that cause the lamp to 
smoke are cheap, inferior oil and setting a machine 
in a direct draft. 

Tampering with the incubator while it is in 
operation has caused many a disastrous hatch. This 
same overanxious, meddlesome operator would 
have the same result with setting hens because he 
would pester them also. When a person declares 
he can't get results from setting hens, the chances 
are that he will not be much of a success as an incu- 
bator operator. The most successful operator is 
one who carefully looks after all the details neces- 
sary to operate and then trusts the machine to do 
the work. 

Do not neglect turning the eggs twice daily after 
the second day, and continue doing so up to the 
eighteenth day. After that the machine should not 
be opened for any purpose whatsoever until the 
hatch is complete. Keep the chicks in the incubator 
until they are perfectly dry, then remove them to 
the brooder. The opening of the incubator door has 



ARTIFICIAL INCUBATION 69 

caused many chicks to die in their shells. " Hands 
off" until the machine has finished its work is good 
advice to follow. 

Incubators which have been stored away during 
the off season need special inspection. It often hap- 
pens mice will find an inviting place in some part of 
the machine, and in some cases will fill the heating 
tubes with nesting material, causing lots of trouble 
to the operator when the lamp is lit for the first run. 

The lamp should also be tested; the bowl may 
have sprung a leak, or a new burner may be neces- 
sary. The regulator should be carefully gone over, 
it might need some balancing or possibly a little 
repairing in order to make it work perfectly. 

From an economical standpoint the incubator is 
preferable to the hen. Hens when hatching and 
brooding the chicks do not lay, and it takes from 
ten to a dozen hens to take care of as many eggs 
IS one 1 50 tgg incubator, whereas such an incubator 
can be operated for about $1 for the three weeks* 
run. The loss of eggs from ten hens would exceed 
this amount, not figuring the difference in the labor 
of taking care of ten broody hens and one good 
incubator. 

If the eggs are all right and the machine is run 
right, most any one can hatch chicks "the artificial 
way." 



CHAPTER XIII 



ARTIFICIAL BROODING 



Artificial brooding of chicks presents similar 
problems to artificial incubation. The general prin- 
ciple is to substitute in an artificial way the same 
heat supplied by the hen. Although it does not 
require as uniform a temperature as does incuba- 
tion, still there must not be any too marked changes. 
To almost roast the chicks part of the time and then 
chill them the balance of the time is bound to pro- 
duce bowel trouble and death. Variations in the 
heat to a reasonable extent will not do much harm, 
but it is best to have the brooder regulated so as to 
maintain a uniform temperature throughout the day 
and night. 

Most of the good brooders heated by lamp have 
a regulator attached, very similar to that used upon 
incubators, and with such an arrangement the 
degrees of temperature can be easily kept at a uni- 
form point. Such brooders require less watching 
and save considerable labor to the busy poultry 
raiser. 

Brooders must be properly ventilated, and to 
secure that degree of ventilation necessary with- 
out seriously affecting the temperature is a problem 
which ofttimes presents itself to the inexperienced 

70 



ARTIFICIAL BROODING J\ 

poultryman. The tendency is to overcrowd the 
brooders, and to overcome this crowded condition 
more and larger openings must be made to permit 
free passage of fresh air, hence the temperature of 
the brooder is more difficult to regulate, and in 
some cases it is almost impossible to do it. 

Overcrowding the brooder is about the worst 
mistake one can make. This practice results in 
heavy losses, and a weakening condition to those 
who are fortunate enough to withstand this hard- 
ship. In many cases the blame for this overcrowd- 
ing on the part of the inexperienced operator can 
be laid at the doors of the manufacturers of some 
of the brooders, who in their desire to outdo the 
claims of their competitors in the same line of 
business, overrate the actual and safe capacity of 
their brooders. Thus the novices, who are not 
versed sufficiently on the subject of artificial brood- 
ing, are misled by the very people with whom they 
place their confidence. It is unjust on the part of 
the manufacturers to misrepresent such an impor- 
tant factor as capacity, and I believe it will react 
upon them in the end. 

When the brooder is overcrowded and the chicks 
die in large numbers, in many cases the blame is 
placed upon the brooder, hence the manufacturer 
loses both the friendship and future orders of the 
imposed upon poultry keeper. 

Another fact which is not always taken into con- 



72 ARTIFICIAL BROODING 

sideration is the growing of the chicks. A brooder 
may be sufficiently large to take proper care of, say, 
ICO chicks during the first week of their existence, 
but in a few more weeks this same lot of youngsters 
would be of such a size that the capacity of the 
aforesaid brooder would be inadequate to hover 
such a number properly without being very much 
overcrowded. A little common sense used on such 
subjects will overcome lots of disappointments and 
losses, and although it is best to follow the manufac- 
turer's directions as much as possible in the opera- 
tion of a brooder, it nevertheless is advisable to use 
your own judgment as well. 

Most any one, no matter how inexperienced, 
should be able to note when the brooder is over- 
crowded, and when the little fellows seem to be 
uncomfortable. At the first appearance of crowd- 
ing the flock should be divided, and some of them 
put into another brooder. To endeavor to save on 
equipment, space, and labor at the expense of the 
health of the chicks is indeed poor economy, and 
will prove costly in the end. If you cannot afford 
to purchase the necessary brooders to take the 
proper care of your incubator capacity, it would be 
to your interest to set less eggs and thus eliminate 
the possibilities of heavy losses in the chicks, and 
impairing the health of the entire flock of young- 
sters. Many a novice has made this mistake, and in 
almost every case has paid dearly for it. 



ARTIFICIAL BROODING 73 

The novice should heed the oft repeated asser- 
tion, "It's easier to hatch the chicks than to raise 
them." Good eggs placed in a good incubator run 
properly or placed under a hen will hatch, but to 
properly care for the little creatures presents a more 
difficult problem. To properly care for chicks means 
to supply them with the things which nature intends 
they should have to promote their health and 
growth. 

Warmth is the first essential to their welfare. 
When hens are used to mother the broods there will 
be no trouble in this direction, unless perhaps too 
many chicks are placed in their charge, but where 
the artificial methods are used improper tempera- 
tures are apt to cause many losses before the causes 
are detected by the inexperienced. The low and 
irregular temperatures of brooders have caused 
more cases of diseases and deaths than any other 
one thing in the artificial brooding of chicks. 

First of all the novice should install a brooder 
which will meet his particular case. What I mean 
by this is he must pay some attention to where the 
artificial mother is to be located, whether in a warm 
room, a fairly warm henhouse, or in the yard. 
There are heated indoor, heated outdoor, and fire- 
less brooders; all have their advocates. It would 
be far from practical to put a heated indoor or a 
fireless brooder outside during the early part of 
the season, nor would it be economical to purchase 



74 ARTIFICIAL BROODING 

an outdoor heated brooder for indoor use.^ These 
things must all be taken into consideration when 
the equipment is obtained. 

One of the late inventions along this line is a 
portable hover which can be used in a warm room 
during the early part of the season, and as weather 
conditions improve it can be installed in a colony 
house or some other unheated building. I believe 
that this style of hover will be popular, as it can 
be moved from place to place as occasion demands, 
necessitating only one style of equipment for both 
indoor and outdoor use. 

Before taking the chicks from the incubator and 
placing them in the brooder it is advisable to operate 
the latter for a day or two, so as to have it heated 
up and properly regulated at about 90 degrees. 
When the chicks are then put in the temperature is 
bound to rise, and care should then be taken that 
it does not go much above 98 degrees, which 
temperature may be retained for the first week. 
The second week the temperature should be reduced 
to about 90 degrees, the third week to 85, and after 
that about 80 degrees as long as the chicks need 
brooding. An outdoor brooder will need to be regu- 
lated with weather conditions; cold nights should 
be especially guarded against. 

Chicks not supplied with the proper amount of 
artificial heat will crowd, no matter how few are 
placed in the brooder. It is instinctive for them 



ARTIFICIAL BROODING 75 

to huddle and endeavor in that way to keep them- 
selves warm. When the proper amount of heat is 
given to the chicks they will invariably spread out 
on the floor of the brooder and be contented. 
Crowding will result in some being trampled to 
death, while others will be retarded in their growth, 
or possibly become affected with white diarrhoea. 

Keep the brooder heated until the chicks get so 
far developed that they no longer care to go under 
the' hover, when they may be removed to the colony 
houses to make room for another brood. Some make 
the mistake of taking the heat away from the chicks 
too soon, with the result that they will have a lot 
of stunted chicks. Leave it to the chicks to decide 
when they should be taken from the brooder, and 
you will always be on the safe side. 

Cover the bottom of the brooder with short cut 
alfalfa, clover, or fine cut straw, which should be 
removed when it gets soiled, the bottom sprinkled 
with a good disinfectant, and a new bedding put 
in. Some also use dry dirt and sand for floor cov- 
ering. 

Feeding is an important factor in the successful 
raising of chicks. For the first thirty-six hours 
the newly hatched need no feed at all, as the yolk 
of the Qgg is absorbed, furnishing them with suffi- 
cient nourishment. After this period has elapsed 
give them a supply of fine grit and charcoal, and 
if possible feed them some hard boiled eggs. The 



^6 ARTIFICIAL BROODING 

infertile eggs from the incubator may be used for 
this purpose. Then feed them some good commer- 
cial chick food, or if this is not easily obtainable, 
give them a mixture of steel cut oatmeal, millet 
seed, and fine cracked corn. 

Never feed any sloppy, wet feeds, as it has a ten- 
dency to cause howd trouble. Give them plenty 
of milk or water to drink and keep the vessels clean, 
a scouring each day will not take much time and 
will be a precaution against disease. 

Give the chicks plenty of green food, sprouted 
oats, or tender grass, also some fine beef scraps, or 
some raw meat cut up fine. They relish the latter 
and it does them much good, serving the same 
purpose as insects. 

Keep the little ones busy by feeding the ground 
grain feeds in the litter, and feed them four or 
five times daily. 

If the foregoing advice is closely followed the 
amateur poultry raiser will have little trouble in 
raising a flock of healthy chicks and developing 
them into vigorous pullets and cockerels. 

If a common, ordinary shallow dish is used the 
chicks will invariably hop into it, not only contin- 
ually getting their feet wet but also keeping the 
water so soiled that it is unfit to drink. An auto- 
matic water fountain will prevent this, and is the 
only device which should be used on a well regu- 
lated poultry plant. There are many kinds upon 



ARTIFICIAL BROODING >jj 

the market which can be purchased at a nominal 
price, but those who cannot afford to spend any 
money on such devices can with little trouble 
make one. Take an empty tomato can, or any kind 
of a fruit can, for that matter, scour it out thor- 
oughly, punch a small hole (about a quarter of an 
inch will do) close to the bottom, or open end. 
Fill the can with water, place a saucer, or other 
shallow dish, over it, hold the dish tight, and then 
revert, so that the saucer will be on the bottom. 

Only enough water will come out of the can into 
the saucer at a time to cover the space up to the 
top of the punched hole, thus giving an automatic 
drinking fountain. Do not use a leaky can, as it 
must be perfectly airtight on top, otherwise all of 
the water will come out at once. Care must also 
be taken not to punch the top of the hole higher 
than the depth of the saucer, or the fountain will 
overflow. This kind of fountain is easily cleaned, 
cheaply constructed, and answers the purpose for 
which it is intended. 



CHAPTER XIV 

DEVELOPMENT OF CHICKS 

Upon the activity of a brood of chicks depends their 
rapid growth and development. Chicks which are 
not active will not take to the food as they should, 
nor will they develop their tiny muscles to such an 
extent as to give them the proper amount of bodily 
strength. Good appetites mean healthy chicks, and 
healthy chicks are bound to grow. 

Keep the chicks moving and don't bridle them 
up in a small space where exercise is impossible. 
When chicks are about ten days old they should 
have access to a run, not necessarily a large run, but 
one sufficiently roomy to permit them to scratch 
and play. Cover the floor of this run with an abun- 
dance of chaff, short cut alfalfa, cut clover, or some 
other similar material which gives them something 
to scratch in. If the dry grain feeds are scattered 
in this litter you may rest assured the little fluffy 
fellows will do their share of scratching. It is 
very interesting to see them work, digging down 
in the chaff and throwing it all about them and en- 
joying the grains when they get them. It denotes 
life in the little flock and makes one feel that they 
are contented and happy. 

Another good form of exercise is to hang up a 

78 



DEVELOPMENT OF CHICKS 79 

head of lettuce or cabbage and make them jump 
up for their green food. They will also enjoy jump- 
ing at a peeled apple suspended by a cord. A little 
fine chopped up raw meat thrown in the run, a little 
at a time, will make them scamper about like a bunch 
of football players in full action. 

When the weather is pleasant and chicks are a 
few weeks old they should be given outdoor exer- 
cise on dry ground runs, and later in the season 
on grass runs if such a thing is possible. Chicks 
can be reared up to nine and ten weeks on board 
runs, and many are raised every year without 
being put upon the ground at all, but experiments 
along this line have shown that chicks given ground 
runs are hardier and healthier than those denied 
nature's earth to run on. Their special delight 
seems to be to dig into freshly turned soil. For 
hours they will scratch in this fresh earth, and no 
doubt they find many things which are beneficial 
to them and which are not supplied in their regular 
rations of feed and grits. The fresh air and the 
sunshine they get out in the open are also very es- 
sential to their growth and development. Of course 
it is understood that the chicks should be kept in 
during rainy and damp days, or when the dew is 
heavy on the grass in the morning. Dampness is 
liable to cause leg weakness or bowel trouble, two 
very much dreaded diseases among poultry breeders. 

Lice on growing chicks will also retard their 



8o DEVELOPMENT OF CHICKS 

growtn and development. But lice come from ne- 
glect. Careful, painstaking poultry raisers are sel- 
dom troubled with these pests to any great extent. 
At any rate they do not get a hold upon their flocks. 

Filthy and poorly ventilated houses will also un- 
dermine the vigor of the growing pullets and affect 
their laying possibilities. Cleanliness means dollars 
to the poultryman. 

Many pullets get their first setback in improp- 
erly heated, crowded, or poorly ventilated brooders. 
Some persons hatch more chicks than they can prop- 
erly take care of with the brooding equipment at 
hand. They take a chance and pay the penalty not 
only by losing many of the chicks, but also by af- 
fecting the vitality of those birds fortunate enough 
to pull through. The profits are not in what you 
hatch, but in what you raise to maturity. 

Figure your capacity correctly and see to it that 
your brooder outfits are in keeping with your incu- 
bator capacity. Of course the one who uses the old 
hen to do the work need not figure these things ; his 
or her worries will come later when they have eggs 
to set and no clucky hens to set them under. 

The average weight of a newly hatched chick is 
about one and one-quarter to one and one-half 
ounces. In three or four weeks it should weigh 
one and one-half pounds; at six or eight weeks a 
pound; nine to eleven weeks, two pounds, and at 
three months it should be up to two and one -half or 



DEVELOPMENT OF CHICKS 8l 

three pounds. From then on the youngster should 
gain about a pound a month until six months, when 
it should have its full growth. 

Chicks raised on range, when taken from the 
brooder, should be provided with movable colony 
houses, holding 50 chicks each. These houses should 
have open fronts, and should be placed facing the 
south. The open fronts should be protected with 
some kind of an awning, or built in such a manner 
that the heavy rains cannot blow into the interior of 
the colony houses. 



CHAPTER XV 



WEANING THE CHICKS 



Weaning time is the time to take the chicks away 
from the *' c'ncks " or brooders, as the case may be. 
The weaning process should start at the age of 6 to 
8 weeks, or better still when the chicks show signs 
of wanting to roost on the top of the hover or other 
places ^'^out the brood coop. In most cases the 
chicks themselves will indicate to you when they are 
no longer in need of heat and mothering. 

When these signs are apparent they should be re- 
moved to new quarters arranged for them. Com- 
fortable houses should be provided for their recep- 
tion. When I say comfortable I mean everything 
the word implies, everything necessary for their 
health and to promote their growth. 

Any old house or box will not do. It must be 
waterproof, so as to keep out the hard summer rains, 
not only from the top, but also from the sides. Face 
it to che south or east, never to the north or west. 
Provide plenty of fresh air by having the front as 
much open as possible. Growing stock reared in 
open front houses will develop into hardier fowls 
than those too closely housed. Fresh air and plenty 
of it, both during the day and at night, is an abso- 
lute necessity to proper development. 

82 



WEANING THE CHICKS 83 

Have the houses built of a size in keeping with the 
number of birds to occupy them. Overcrowding is 
bound to result in trouble for the operator — the 
stunting of the chicks, disease or deaths. Have the 
front so arranged that the sun will penetrate almost 
every part of the house at certain times during the 
day. Plenty of sunshine with good ventilation will 
do more to keep away disease than all the disinfec- 
tants on the market. 

These houses should have removable roosts, built 
rather low, so that the young stock will have no diffi- 
culty in getting on to them, and also preventing the 
danger of injuries to their feet from too high a jump 
on the hard floor below. I recommend removable 
roosts to facilitate the cleaning of the houses. 

Before the chicks are removed to the new quar- 
ters, the houses should be given a thorough white- 
washing, thus making them sanitary and almost 
vermin proof. The chicks should also be closely ex- 
amined for lice before occupying the new homes, 
and at the least sign of any vermin they should all 
be well dusted with insect powder. 

Do not give the growing chicks any opportunity 
to roost upon the cross studdings. H such are used 
in the construction of the house cover them with a 
slanting piece of wood which makes it almost im- 
possible for them to perch on. The roosts should 
also not be round, as such roosts are apt to cause 
crooked breastbones. Always use flat roosts about 



84 WEANING THE CHICKS 

three inches wide, and of sufficient capacity to ac- 
commodate the number of chicks comfortably, allow- 
ing plenty of room for them to grow. 

The trouble with many amateurs is they do not 
figure on the chicks' growth and development. The 
house seems large enough when the chicks are placed 
therein, but soon it shows signs of being too small. 
Remember, do not build for today, but build for 
three months hence. It is better economy to have it 
a little too large than too small. 

As a floor covering for these growing houses I 
strongly recommend clean sand. If this is scattered 
about to a depth of about two inches it will readily 
absorb the droppings, keeping the houses in a more 
sanitary condition than if the droppings are per- 
mitted to fall upon the bare floor. If this sand cov- 
ering is raked thoroughly twice a week it is not 
necessary to replace it more often than twice a 
month. 

Where space is limited and the growing stock can- 
not be given free range runs must be provided of 
sufficient dimensions to afford the chicks exercise. 
These runs must be provided with plenty of shade. 
Small trees, bushes, or shrubbery are the best for 
this purpose, but where these cannot be provided a 
canvas or board covering should be constructed at 
one end of the run. 

The drinking vessels should always be placed in 
the shade and the water therein should be renewed 



WEANING THE CHICKS 85 

at least twice a day during the summer months. 
Clean drinking vessels with plenty of fresh water 
will assist greatly in keeping the flock in the best 
condition during their growth. 

Spade up some of the soil in the runs and give the 
chicks a chance to scratch and wallow in it. They 
will find many things in that freshly spaded soil 
which cannot be supplied to them in an artificial way. 

Kill the cripples and sickly looking specimens; 
they will never amount to much and are only in the 
way of those that are growing and doing nicely. 



CHAPTER XVI 

FEEDING THE GROWING STOCK 

DoN*T be hasty in feeding the growing stock the 
larger grains. The comparative cheapness of whole 
corn and oats to that of the mixed chick foods offers 
temptations to the amateur to rush the feeding of 
the chicks. To pursue such a policy will result in 
retarding the growth, and in many cases disease and 
death will follow in rapid succession. 

The smaller grains are more easily digested, thus 
assisting nature greatly in its work, and eliminating 
to a great extent the possibility of sour crop and in- 
digestion. Of course il is understood that when the 
chicks are considerably advanced they should not be 
fed on the smaller chick foods, but should be put 
upon the coarser grades. 

A good reliable growing mash should also be fed 
from a trough or dry food hopper. This can be 
placed before them at all times as the chicks are not 
very apt to eat too much of this dry fine mixture at 
any time. Never feed any wet, sloppy mashes of 
any kind to the growing stock, as they are unneces- 
sary and dangerous to the health of the flock. Dry 
wheat bran makes an excellent feed for the growing 
stock, and can be fed in unlimited quantities. 

Keep the chicks well supplied with granulated 
86 



FEEDING THE GROWING STOCK 87 

bone, charcoal and beef scraps. The latter must be 
fresh and free from any musty odor. Much damage 
has been done in growing flocks from the feeding of 
poor dry beef scraps, and great care should be exer- 
cised in purchasing this article. Charcoal is one of 
the most important things to have about the poultry 
yards, notwithstanding the claim of some poultry- 
men, who say it is unnecessary when the fowls and 
chicks are given the proper foods in the right pro- 
portions. It keeps the gases down and assists diges- 
tion, preventing many cases of bowel trouble, and 
other diseases. My advice is to keep charcoal before 
the birds at all times. 

Meat in some form must be fed to poultry, they 
must have animal matter. Fowls running on free 
range where insects are plentiful obtain a sufficient 
supply of animal matter, but those kept in closer 
quarters must be given this food in another form. 
Finely chopped fresh meat is an excellent bone and 
muscle builder for the young stock, but should not 
be fed more often than two or three times a week. 
Green bone cut freshly just before feeding, is equally 
as beneficial but must also be fed with judgment as 
to how much and how often. Meat foods assist 
feather, bone, muscle and comb development, conse- 
quently too much is very apt to cause too much forc- 
ing along these lines. 

The poultr3nnan who is careless in his purchases 
is liable to get a supply of grains which are too fresh 



88 FEEDING THE GROWING STOCK 

for immediate feeding. Grains of all kinds should 
be fairly well seasoned before they are given to 
the stock, especially the growing chicks. Unseasoned 
grains cause bowel trouble and indigestion. Those 
who have the room should lay in a supply of old 
grains before the new crop is put upon the mar- 
ket, thus avoiding all dangers of being forced to 
purchase the newly gathered crop. New wheat and 
new corn are more dangerous than the other grains 
and should be especially avoided. 

The growing stock must have lots of green food. 
Give them all the lawn clippings, lettuce, beet tops, 
mustard plants, or sprouted oats they will eat. Birds 
in confinement must be supplied with these necessi- 
ties, they are absolutely necessary to the proper 
health and development of the flock. Raw potatoes 
or potato peelings are also good. 

Do not throw out the sour milk, give it to the 
chicks ; it is a very valuable food for them, and much 
relished. Skim milk or buttermilk is also very good. 



CHAPTER XVII 



BUILDING THE FRAME 



In raising chicks for the market it is absolutely 
necessary to build the frame before putting on the 
fat. Inexperienced poultry raisers often start their 
chicks with too much fat forming food, containing 
a very small percentage of ash and protein. The 
growing chicks must have the frame, bone and muscle 
to carry the fat, without these the result will be leg 
weakness and other ailments, and in many cases the 
retarding of the growth. It is only reasonable to 
build the foundation first before going on with the 
rest of the structure. A chick with a proper devel- 
oped frame, well formed bones and good muscles 
will take on fat readily when the time comes for 
such development. 

Do not attempt to crowd matters along this line, 
go about it systematically, build up from the bottom, 
and put on the finishing touches when the time is at 
hand to do so. It is possible to force a chick, but 
that forcing must be done first on the bones and 
muscles, and then the fat. Remember, the frame 
must first of all have the carrying capacity, or there 
is sure to be some kind of a breakdown. Sometimes 
these breakdowns will not be in evidence at the be- 
ginning, but later on they will surely crop out. 

89 



90 BUILDING THE FRAME 

Many broods are started with too much corn meal, 
and later too much cracked corn in their grain foods. 
Corn contains a very small percentage of ash or min- 
eral matter, very little protein, and a very large per- 
centage of carbohydrates, as a fattener it is excellent 
but as a bone and muscle builder it has very little 
value. I do not wish to leave the impression not to 
feed any corn to the growing chicks, but what I wish 
to convey to the amateur poultry raiser is the danger 
in feeding too much corn, or for that matter too 
much of any food which contains too much fat form- 
ing substances. Americans and especially the farm- 
ers rely too much upon corn as a food, and the low 
price, compared with other grains grown upon our 
farms offers an incentive to use it more freely. To 
feed lots of corn because it is cheaper will in the end 
prove to be poor economy, and such a policy of sav- 
ing is condemned by every experienced poultry 
raiser. 

Strength and vigor must be in the chick when it is 
hatched, but that strength and vigor must be encour- 
aged and must grow with the development of the 
chick. No matter how healthy and strong the chick 
may be when hatched, the strength will soon dis- 
appear when not given the proper feed and atten- 
tion. It is much easier to run a flock down than to 
build it up, and nothing will run down a flock of 
chicks quicker than improper feeding. 

Oats and wheat contain a good percentage of the 



BUILDING THE FRAME 91 

elements necessary to build bone and muscles, the 
former especially is one of the very best poultry 
foods to be found. To the oats and wheat may be 
added kaffir com, millet and some cracked corn, all 
of which combined forms an excellent grain food 
for the growing chicks„ 

Wet mashes containing boiled potatoes and other 
starchy foods are also condemned as a food for the 
growing chicks, as they are very fattening and very 
apt to cause bowel trouble and indigestion. Person- 
ally I am very much opposed to feeding any kind of 
wet mashes at any time ; as experiments have shown 
that dry mashes produce better results with less dan- 
ger of the birds overeating, and practically no dan- 
ger of sour crops or bowel trotibles originating there- 
from. A mixture of bran, middlings, ground oats, 
mealed alfalfa, to which may be added when fed 
some high grade beef scraps, makes an ideal dry 
mash for the growing chicks, and although this is 
not a forcing food it assists materially in building 
up the chicks and developing them as quickly as 
nature intended them to advance. 

The evenly, steadily growing chicks are the ones 
that make good, and are superior to those that have 
been forced in development. 



CHAPTER XVIII 



CONSTITUTIONAL VIGOR 



Whether we breed fancy, utility, or mongrel fowls 
there should be a constant endeavor to build up the 
flock if we expect to attain success. Probably I 
should have left the mongrel hen out of considera- 
tion, though I have known mixed flocks that gave a 
good account of themselves. But as a rule, when a 
person gets to the point where he or she is sufficiently 
interested in the hens to improve them, it does not 
take long to be convinced that if there is to be any 
marked improvement pure bred fowls must be kept. 

The breed matters little, being largely a matter of 
personal preference. What is most important is the 
constitutional vigor of the flock, and that is a matter 
of careful selection, breeding and care. 

This care must be exercised first by the beginner 
in the purchasing of the breeding stock, baby chicks 
or the eggs, and this same careful selection for hardi- 
ness and vigor must be continued during the future 
operation of the poultry plant. A flock may easily 
deteriorate and not be profitable. 

To accomplish the greatest amount of good in 
building up the flock it will be necessary to start with 
the chicks from the time they are taken from the 

92 



CONSTITUTIONAL VIGOR 93 

incubator and keep them steadily developing. Not 
alone this, but the process of elimination must begin 
early. 

Few poultrymen have the courage to cull as closely 
as they should, and this is more nearly true of the 
great number of nonprofessionals, who have small 
flocks. Some will take the weak and sickly chicks 
from the incubator and by coddling and doctoring 
them possibly save their lives, but seldom do such 
chicks amount to much in the end. Who would care 
to buy chicks from such stocks ? 

It is better by far to kill all the weaklings and 
cripples as soon as they are discovered. It is much 
preferable to have less chicks and have them vigor- 
ous and healthy, thereby assisting to build up the 
flock. 

Give the chicks every attention during the brooder 
period, feeding regularly the first few days, and 
looking after their every want. Feed them good 
clean commercial chick food, composed of small 
grains, and a dry mash of wheat bran and middlings. 
Supply them with plenty of fresh water, grit, char- 
coal, and a little meat in some form. 

In order to produce strong, healthy hens there 
must be no check to the chicks' growth, but, on the 
other hand, it is not advisable to force them. Pullets 
may be hastened to maturity and their laying stim- 
ulated in various ways, but it will surely weaken the 
constitution and destroy the hen's value as a breeder. 



94 CONSTITUTIONAL VIGOR 

A good steady growth is more desirable and will win 
out in the long run. 

After the chicks have passed the brooder stage 
give the youngsters a roomy coop and a run, so as to 
give them exercise. Give them plenty of green stuff 
and animal matter. Keep the coops and runs 
clean — filthy quarters will breed disease and ver- 
min. Coarser grains should then be fed. 

Throughout the summer the culling process should 
continue if the flock's standard is to be materially 
raised. As the chicks grow some will show imper- 
fections, and these should be culled out as soon as 
possible. Those having crooked tails or bones should 
not be retained in the lot. These defects are not 
always transmitted to offspring, but no chances 
should be taken on this score. Besides, such speci- 
mens detract from the general appearance of a flock. 
The defective birds, along with the undersized ones, 
should be put into the fattening pens preparatory to 
being used for the table or market. 

If the breeder will only study his flock, going over 
them carefully and retaining only the best for future 
breeding, the standard of the flock will be increased 
each year, and this improvement will increase the 
earning capacity of the plant. 



CHAPTER XIX 

SUMMER MANAGEMENT 

Summer is always a busy time in the well regulated 
poultry yard. The stock, both old and young, must 
receive special attention. Hot weather breeds both 
lice and disease, unless every precaution is taken to 
prevent their appearance in the flocks. 

A little neglect during hot months is very apt to 
cause the poultry raiser much trouble. A few hours' 
extra work now may be the means of saving many 
hours of work and anxiety later, not to mention the 
losses in dollars and cents. 

Don't be unmindful of the fact that thousands of 
chicks and grown fowls succumb during the hot 
months from the ravages of insects and disease. A 
large percentage of this mortality could be overcome 
if more vigilance were exercised by many of the 
poultry keepers. 

Filthy quarters during warm weather are bound 
to result in trouble. Heat and filth play hand in 
hand to increase vermin to an alarming extent and 
under such favorable conditions it is difficult to 
arrest their progress. Let the vermin once get a 
good start and the work of extermination means a 
hard fight and a persistent one. The experienced 
poultryman needs no warning, he knows too well 

95 



96 SUMMER MANAGEMENT 

how rapidly these pests will increase and the damage 
they can do in a comparatively short time. Begin- 
ners are very often too slow to detect the presence 
of insects and when they are discovered they have 
gained a good foothold upon the flock. 

In many cases the trouble originates with the set- 
ting of the hens. The inexperienced poultry raiser 
fails to dust these at intervals of a week during the 
progress of the incubation with the result that the 
hen comes off the nest with her brood of chicks 
loaded with lice, which in turn are transmitted to 
the chicks. * A cluck setting on a nest does not have 
the opportunity to dust herself as frequently as the 
other hens, and this coupled with the fact that her 
body is possessed with a higher temperature makes 
the conditions more ideal for the propagation of 
vermin. 

Those who have started to combat vermin early in 
the season need not fear the ravages of these pests 
as much as those who have been neglectful in this 
direction, but nevertheless they must keep preventa- 
tives on the job at all times. Keep the houses ex- 
ceptionally clean during the hot spell, disinfect thor- 
oughly, change nesting material often, spray the 
nesting boxes, give the fowls free access to a dust 
bath, and examine the birds often. Should the poul- 
tryman notice the first sign of vermin, every bird 
should be taken in hand and thoroughly dusted with 
the best poultry lice powder obtainable. Another 



SUMMER MANAGEMENT 97 

advisable thing to do is to paint the roosts with a 
reliable lice paint, and the nesting boxes may be 
treated in a like manner. 

Keep the poultry house free from any foul odors 
during the hot summer months. A good reliable dis- 
infectant used properly will assist greatly in this di- 
rection. Air slaked lime swept over the floor and 
dropping boards after each cleaning will keep the 
house free from odors and act as a germicide, pre- 
venting disease and assisting materially in keeping 
down the insects. Every poultryman should keep a 
barrel of air slaked lime on the premises and use 
it freely. 

Too much cannot be said about the drinking ves- 
sels. Many of the diseases infecting our domestic 
fowls come from unsanitary fountains. A drinking 
vessel cannot be kept clean and sanitary by merely 
washing it out with cold water, or possibly playing 
the full force of the hydrant upon it; it must be 
scoured often. A good plan is to dip it in a solution 
of disinfectant, or boil it out with steaming hot 
water to which has been added some soda. Drink- 
ing vessels require more care in summer than winter 
as the warm weather produces a more slimy settle- 
ment in the water. 

Remember, clean, sanitary drinking vessels, clean 
houses, clean yards and a continuous warfare on ver- 
min are essential to hot weather poultry keeping. 

Have your poultry houses cool in summer, — it is 



98 SUMMER MANAGEMENT 

just as important and possibly more so than having 
them warm in winter. To confine fowls in hot 
poorly ventilated sleeping quarters during the sum- 
mer night is bound to show its effects upon the 
breeding stock as well as the growing chicks. 

I have found it very advantageous to have a 
wood or canvas awning over the windows during the 
hot summer days. It will assist materially to keep 
the house more comfortable, — shutting out the hot 
sun-rays and also affording a protection for the sud- 
den heavy summer showers which may come on 
during one's absence from home. If the board can- 
opy is used it should be attached with hinges, which 
makes it possible to be raised and lowered as occa- 
sion demands. Do not have the boards covered with 
tin, either have them made from matched flooring 
or covered with roofing paper. Tin will draw the 
heat from the sun, and I do not recommend it for 
any kind of poultry house coverings. 

Poultry houses should be sunned out some during 
the day, but it is far from advisable to have the sun 
beat into it during the biggest part of the day, result- 
ing in making the house more of an oven than a 
roosting place for hens. Remember the fowls feel 
the heat as much as human beings and it is necessary 
to assist them in keeping comfortable. 

Poultry which is housed in cool houses at night, 
and given lots of shade to run under during the day, 
is bound to show better results for the egg basket. 



SUMMER MANAGEMENT 99 

Fowls which have been exhausted from the heat can- 
not be expected to be in the best laying condition. 

Most of the hens have been hard at work during 
the spring months shelling out eggs, hence they need 
all the comfort possible in order that they may con- 
tinue in their work. A good circulation of fresh air 
during the roosting hours can be provided at little or 
no expense, even though it be necessary to make 
several temporary openings for the summer months. 

Poultry houses in which the windows are all 
placed considerably below the ceiling should have a 
ventilator at the extreme height of the building to 
carry away as much of the heat gathering above the 
windows as possible. It is well to protect such ven- 
tilators in such a way as to prevent the rains from 
blowing into them. 

Many poultrymen have doors covered with wire 
netting, which are used instead of the wooden struc- 
tures during hot summer days and nights. The wire 
doors will admit lots of fresh air, and at the same 
time keep out the prowlers of the night. It is not 
advisable to keep the doors open during the night 
without some kind of protection. 

There are many other ideas which can be used to 
advantage in devising a way to keep the poultry 
houses comfortable, if the poultry raiser wall only 
give the subject the amount of thought it deserves. 

Change the water at least twice a day, and keep 
the drinking fountains in a shady place. 



lOO SUMMER MANAGEMENT 

Do not feed too much corn, it is too heating, and 
has a tendency to make the hens " clucky." 

Disinfect the poultry houses thoroughly at least 
once a week, use a sprayer for this purpose, as it 
can be done more effectively with such a device. 

Change the nesting material often. Use clean 
straw well sprinkled with insect powder. The nest- 
ing boxes should also be treated with a liberal supply 
of disinfectant. 

If possible gather the eggs twice each day so as to 
prevent any possibility of "clucky" hens setting on 
them for any length of time. 

Do not permit your hens to roost out of doors be- 
cause the weather is warm. It teaches them a very 
bad habit. 

Dry bran and middlings are good feeds during the 
summer months. Always feed these dry, in a hop- 
per. 

Keep the grit boxes well filled with coarse, sharp 
grit, charcoal and oyster shells. Even though the 
hens have free range, it is advisable to have these 
necessities in boxes placed near the dry food hoppers. 

Throw the lawn clippings into the poultry runs. 
Give the fowls all the green food they can eat. 

Never use a drinking fountain which cannot be 
easily cleaned. Unsanitary drinking vessels are very 
liable to cause disease during the warm weather. 

Lots of shade is the proper thing. To force the 
hens to take to the henhouse for shade during the 



SUMMER MANAGEMENT loi 

hot summer days is a mistake and should not be tol- 
erated on a well regulated poultry plant. Shade 
trees and small shrubbery are a valuable asset to a 
poultry run, but where these are not to be had, some 
kind of a shade shelter should be constructed. Some 
poultry keepers build the houses high enough up 
from the ground to permit the hens to run under the 
buildings for shelter. 

Do not let the growing stock run with the laying 
hens. The chicks need different care and feeding 
than the old stock. 

Remove the broody hens to other quarters as 
soon as they are discovered. A broody hen is liable 
to cause trouble in the laying hens. 

Dig up the soil in the runs. It will do the hens 
good to wallow in the freshly turned earth. 

If the runs are small, rake and clean them out 
often. 

Do not set the hens in the hay loft, or in the gar- 
ret, set them either on the ground or as close as 
possible to it. Soil helps to furnish moisture to the 
eggs, a necessity for successful hatching. 

Do not keep the "mother" with her brood in a 
closed, stuffy box at night. Both the hen and the 
chicks need lots of fresh air. 

If any of the hens should show signs of being off 
their feed give them a dose of epsom salts. It is 
advisable to put some epsom salts in the water now 
and then. Do not do this too often, once every two 



I02 SUMMER MANAGEMENT 

or three weeks, during the summer months, is suffi- 
cient. 

If you feed green ground bone be sure that it is 
freshly ground each day, as it will easily spoil dur- 
ing hot weather. Tainted meats or meat products 
are not safe to feed to poultry. 

Farmers are very apt to neglect their poultry dur- 
ing the summer months, being busy in the fields. 
This is a serious mistake. Would these same farm- 
ers even think of neglecting the cows and hogs? 
Why, then, the poultry ? 



CHAPTER XX 

BUILDING UP A LAYING STRAIN 

Building up a laying strain is a subject that is re- 
ceiving much attention among the poultry raisers in 
these days of high prices for eggs. Experience has 
taught poultrymen the futility of haphazard methods 
formerly practiced in the selecting and caring of 
flocks. Proper selections in the breeding stock, 
coupled with correctly balanced rations and good 
care have brought about v^/onderful changes in the 
productiveness of the present day hen. 

To build up a laying strain, man must assist na- 
ture; fixed methods must be used in the breeding; 
some system must be devised for the selection and 
good judgment used in the feeding. It requires 
study and work to bring about the desired results. 

Every one who has had any experience with poul- 
try knows that among hens of the same breeds, and 
even from the same parents, there is a difference in 
the productiveness. It is another case of proving 
that like does not always produce like. That is one 
reason good laying strains are not so easily made. 
The great stumbling block with the utility poultry 
raiser is the inability to distinguish between good 
and poor layers in a flock of otherwise healthy hens. 

The average farm flock of today is not up to the 
103 



104 BUILDING UP ALLAYING STRAIN 

standard in productiveness because little attention is 
paid by the farmer to the selection of his breeding 
stock and in caring for his flock. Many a farm flock 
is compelled to work out its own sustenance. It 
must find its own feed and water, and do its own 
mating. 

Such a farmer generally only thinks of the poul- 
try when it is time to gather the eggs or catch some 
hens for market. Ask these same farmers what 
their poultry is doing and they will tell you they 
couldn't possibly give you an approximate figure as 
to how many eggs the flock has laid, or how much 
the flock has earned in dollars and cents, or how 
many eggs and birds were used on the family table. 
They cannot tell you the age of any of the hens, 
and generally do not know just how many fowls 
they have on the farm. They may also use the same 
male bird year after year, and keep every chicken 
that is hatched whether it was stunted in its growth 
or not. 

These same farmers are the ones that ridicule the 
articles they read about some city man or woman 
making several hundred dollars each year from poul- 
try raised in the back yard. If the egg market de- 
pended on such producers, eggs would certainly be a 
scarce commodity. There would only be breakfast 
eggs for the wealthy and the poor would go without. 

Much study has been given to the development of 
the productiveness of our hens. State universities, 



BUILDING UP A LAYING STRAIN 105 

experimental stations, private individuals have spent, 
time and money in carrying out experiments along 
this line. Such work has resulted in much good to 
the present day poultry raiser, and is assisting him 
greatly in building up his flock to a higher standard 
of productiveness. The various egg laying contests 
which have been carried on in different parts of the 
country have given to the public many facts showing 
what the American hen is capable of doing under the 
right conditions. We are just beginning to learn the 
value of the hen on our farms and in our back yards. 

The introduction of the trap nest has been a great 
help to poultry raisers in selecting good layers. By 
its use the egg yield of every hen can be easily ascer- 
tained, and there is no more guess work necessary in 
finding out which hens really do the work. Trap 
nests make it possible to keep an accurate record of 
each individual hen. They are now quite extensively 
used throughout the country and are becoming more 
popular each year. 

For the benefit of the beginner who, perhaps, does 
not know what a trap nest is and how it works, I will 
state that it is a nest box with a door on the front 
which works automatically in such a manner that it 
traps a hen as soon as she is on the nest and holds 
her a prisoner until released. When the hen is re- 
moved from the box the band number is taken and 
put on the record book for future reference. In con- 
structing these trap nests great care should be taken 



I06 BUILDING UP A LAYING STRAIN 

to supply plenty of ventilation, so as to add to the 
bird's comfort while confined therein. 

Another factor which should enter into the laying 
quality of a hen is the time when she lays the most 
eggs. Winter eggs are, of course, most desirable, 
owing to the prices obtained at that time. It will 
thus be seen that it is not only advisable to pick the 
hen that lays the most eggs but the one that lays 
most during the cold weather. 

If you want good, substantial profits from your 
poultry you must either buy your stock from a good 
laying strain of birds or else build up a good laying 
strain of your own. The extra time and money put 
into the business for that purpose will soon come 
back to you in the returns from the flock. A good 
paying utility flock is one that contains a good egg 
yield from every individual hen. Such a flock is 
possible if the trap nest is used and the selection is 
carefully carried out. 

The poultry department of the New York State 
College of Agriculture at Ithaca has been doing some 
remarkable work in breeding for egg production. 
Among its flock fifteen hens averaged 236 eggs per 
year each, and twelve others averaged 182 eggs dur- 
ing their first laying year. In the former lot are two 
hens which have made astonishing records. Mme. 
Cornell, one of these hens, laid in her first year 245 
eggs, which weighed 30.6 pounds, and Lady Cornell, 
the other hen, 257 eggs, which weighed 29^ pounds. 



BUILDING UP A LAYING STRAIN 107 

Lady Cornell is a single comb white Leghorn and 
only weighs ^.2 pounds, and by laying 257 eggs av- 
eraging 1.8 ounces each this hen's productive ability 
during that period was 9.2 pounds of eggs for each 
pound of her live weight. This is a remarkable per- 
formance. In this hen's second year she laid 200 
eggs weighing 23.69 pounds, or a total egg yield for 
two consecutive years of 457 eggs weighing 53.19 
pounds. 

The wonderful showing made by this Leghorn 
hen proves the truth of Dr. W. H. Jordan's state- 
ment that the productiveness of the hen is greater 
than a Jersey cow in comparative live weights. Dr. 
Jordan, director of the New York experiment sta- 
tion, says : " If you take the dry matter of the hen 
and compare it with the dry m.atter in the eggs she 
lays in a year there will be five and one-half times 
as much dry matter in the eggs as in her whole body. 
The weight of dry matter in the cow's body to the 
weight of the dry matter in the milk will be as 
I to 2.9. 

"In other words, based upon the dry matter, the 
hen does twice as well as the cow. I suspect the hen 
is the most efficient transformer of raw material into 
a finished product that there is on the farm. Her 
physiological activity is something remarkable. So 
in that particular the hen stands in a class by her- 
self." 

In terms of dry matter it has been estimated that 



I08 BUILDING UP A LAYING STRAIN 

Lady Cornell weighed 1.4 pounds, that she consumed 
in one year's time 88.1 pounds and produced eggs 
containing lo.i pounds of dry matter, or 7.1 pounds 
for each pound of dry matter in her body. These 
figures more than bear out Dr. Jordan's contentions. 

A careful record was kept of this particular hen, 
her trap nest record, estimated amount of food she 
ate, labor required to keep her, and her earnings. It 
was estimated that she ate no pounds of food at a 
cost of $1.66; labor to keep her, 75 cents; and inter- 
est on investment, 25 cents, or a total of $2.66. The 
seventy-three pounds of manure were worth 29 cents. 
Her eggs were sold on the Ithaca market for $7.43, 
and this, added to the value of the manure estimated 
at 29 cents, would make a total of receipts of %y."j2. 
It will thus be noted that the net profits from this 
hen were $5.06 for the year. 

Although this showing made by a hen is phenom- 
enal, it proves that such productiveness is possible 
in our domestic fowls and shows what can be done 
by careful selection, proper care, and feeding. It 
illustrates the evidence of human achievement in 
handling the forces of nature, the gradual evolution 
of the domestic fowl from the wild jungle fowls 
which laid only a couple of dozen eggs a year. What 
has been accomplished by Lady Cornell and her run- 
ning mate, Mme. Cornell, can be accomplished by 
other hens. 



BUILDING UP A LAYING STRAIN 



109 



Careful breeding, selection and feeding have made 
wonderful changes in our animal life. Nearly all 
our domestic animals and birds are descendants of 
a wild prototype — the horse from the wild horse of 
Central Asia, the dog from wolves and jackals, the 
many species of pigeons from the wild Blue Rock 
Pigeon, which abounds in Northern and Eastern 
Madeira, Canary Islands, India and Japan. 

What is true of other animal life is also true of 
poultry. Our present day busy hen came from the 
wild jungle fowl of Northern India. The Gallus 
Bankiva, as this wild fowl is called, very closely re- 
sembles the Black-breasted Indian Game, smaller in 
size, and tail carried more erectly. It has required 
centuries of evolution to produce the many varied 
colored and shaped specimens of today. Even this 
remarkable transformation of plumage and form is 
nothing in comparison to the vast improvement in 
egg production. The wild jungle fowl lays from six 
to ten eggs a year, while there are domestic fowls 
today which lay from 265 to 300 eggs a year. All 
of this has been brought about by careful selection, 
breeding and feeding. 

There is a big variation today in the productive- 
ness of our hens, and the 200 eggs a year hen is still 
in the minority, in fact the vast majority of hens lay 
far below this figure, and some of our neglected 
farm flocks average less than a hundred per hen. 



no BUILDING UP A LAYING STRAIN 

The utility side of the hen is still open to much im- 
provement, notwithstanding the rapid strides we 
have made along this line. 

The census reports show that the American hen 
only averages 85 eggs per year, but as this report 
takes in many hens which are too old to lay, or else 
receive such poor treatment and feed that they can- 
not do much for the egg basket, it is hardly fair to 
take this figure as the basis of the average Qgg pro- 
duction of our domestic fowls. There are many 
flocks of good hens that go far above the 150 mark, 
and some that average 180 and 200 in one year. Of 
course these are well bred and selected stock, which 
receive the proper feed and every other attention to 
make them prolific. 

It is often asked whether it is possible to produce 
a flock of hens that will average 200 eggs per year. 
I say, yes. Do not expect to accomplish this in a 
year's breeding, that would be impossible. To ac- 
complish this end, great care must be exercised in 
the selection of the breeding stock to start with, and 
then most diligent culling thereafter. Not alone 
must you have the proper foundation stock to work 
on, but you must also do the right kind of feeding 
with foods of the correct balanced rations. Then 
again you must have cheerful and healthful sur- 
roundings in the houses and runs, plenty of exercise, 
sunshine and shelter, good systematic care and every 
attention must be paid to their welfare. 



BUILDING UP A LAYING STRAIN m 

So many farm flocks make such poor showings in 
egg production on account of neglect, they are forced 
to forage for themselves, or else are fed on nothing 
but corn. They are housed in buildings that are cold 
and damp in winter, and overrun with vermin in 
summer. No attention is paid to the age of the 
hens, and many stay on the farm until they die from 
old age. 

If the farmer who complains of poor success with 
his hens would pay more attention to their wants, 
give them the properly balanced rations, good hous- 
ing, cull out the drones, and keep the flock busy in 
winter as well as in summer, there would be a differ- 
ent story to tell. There is no reason why poultry 
should not be the big payers on the farm. 



CHAPTER XXI 

WINTER EGG PRODUCTION 

It is a well known fact that hens which receive the 
least care and attention will lay most of their eggs in 
spring time, when conditions are most favorable for 
egg production. It therefore behooves the poultry 
keeper to study those conditions and endeavor to 
supply the hens with the same conditions during the 
colder and less favorable weather. 

During the warmer period of the year the fowls 
get abundance of green food, many insects, plenty of 
fresh air and exercise. By supplying the hens with 
these same necessities for egg production during the 
colder months we may obtain to a great degree the 
same favorable conditions as for the springtime egg 
yield. 

In order to sustain the vital forces in laying hens 
during the cold weather, the daily rations must be 
increased and more heat forming food must be sup- 
plied, so that the fowls may be comfortable at night. 
By giving the flock warm mashes or warm water it 
is not necessary to feed quite so heavily, lessening, as 
a matter of fact, the keep cost during the winter 
months. 

For winter feeding scatter a variety of whole 
grain on the litter each morning. This will produce 

1X2 



WINTER EGG PRODUCTION 



"3 



the necessary exercise and keep the hens in good 
laying condition. At noon give them a warm mash 
of ground grain, mixed with either skim milk or 
water, not sloppy but mixed to a crumbly mass. Feed 
just enough to be consumed quickly so that there 
will be none left over to get cold and sour. Table 
scraps added to this mash will be found beneficial 
and will be much relished by the fowls. Late in the 
day the birds should have a supper composed of 
corn, oats, and wheat or barley. A handful to each 
fowl is about the correct amount, but it should vary 
somewhat with the breed and weather conditions. 

The vegetable diet should not be overlooked, as 
that is one of the principal items on the laying hen's 
regular bill of fare, if the proper results are to be 
attained. There are many kinds of vegetable foods 
which can be used for this purpose, among them 
clover, alfalfa, mangel roots, turnips, cabbages, etc. 
A good way to feed cabbage is to hang a head on a 
string and let the hens jump for it. This supplies 
them with additional exercise. 

Quality of feed should also receive every consid- 
eration. Do not feed any musty, moldy, or damaged 
grain of any kind. Although such grains can be 
purchased cheaper it is by far better to pay a little 
more and get a good, healthful food. Experiments 
have shown that the food consumed by a hen imparts 
its flavor to the egg, just the same as the food given 
the cow produces the flavor to the milk. Feed your 



114 WINTER EGG PRODUCTION 

hens large quantities of onions and I venture to say 
you will find the eggs laid by your hens unfit to eat. 

The color of the yolk of an egg is also affected by 
the feeding. A bulletin issued by the Utah Experi- 
menting Station says : " It has been observed by poul- 
try keepers that the yolk of eggs laid by the hens in 
winter is frequently very pale. This has also been 
noted in the eggs laid by hens in our experiments. 
The color approaches that of a lemon, while the nor- 
mal color is more that of a ripe orange. Such eggs 
are not classed as select, which of course affects their 
saleable value. 

"To determine whether the color of yolk is af- 
fected by the food, several tests were made during 
the past winter at the station. On February 9th 
pen of six White Plymouth Rocks had lucern (alfal- 
fa) leaves added to their ration. The leaves were 
fed dry, being thrown on the floor of the pen daily. 
None of the other twenty-five pens were given any. 
The green food consisted of sugar beets. Pen 6 had 
sugar beets also. 

" On February 27th an examination was made of 
the eggs laid by this pen, and it was found that the 
yolks were uniformly normal in color, while the eggs 
from the other pens continued to have yolks uni- 
formly pale in color. The pens were not all fed the 
same ration, but the only ration that produced eggs 
of normal color was the one with lucern leaves. 

" Pen No. 5 as well as pen No. 6 was fed a corn 



WINTER EGG PRODUCTION 115 

ration; that is, their principal grain was corn; the 
other pens had more wheat than corn. The corn was 
a mixture of white and yellow, the white kernels 
predominating, it being impossible to get any other 
kind in this locality. This corn did not seem to 
affect the color of the yolk, as eggs from pen No. 5 
were of the same color as the other pens on the wheat 
ration. Pen No. 14 was fed skimmed milk in place 
of meat scraps and cut bones which the other pens 
received, ihe eggs from this pen were of the pre- 
vailing pale color. 

'*On March ist the feeding of lucern leaves to the 
following pens began: — Nos. 2, 5, 7, 8, 25, and 2S. 
On March 9th pens 9 and 11 were added to the 
lucern pens, and on March 14th pens Nos. 14, 15, 
18, 20, and 22 were added. On March i8th, eighteen 
days after the feeding of lucern began, pen 5 on the 
corn ration, and pens 7, 8, 25, and 28 on the wheat 
ration, were producing eggs with yolks of normal 
color. Pens 3, 10, and 2y without lucern leaves con- 
tinued to lay eggs of the original pale color. 

"On April 5th the eggs from pens 3, 10 and 2^ 
were still pale in color. On this date the hens were 
turned out into the yards which had a growth of 
green grass, lucern and clover, and on April i6th 
they were laying eggs with yolks of good color." 

It will be noted by the foregoing that alfalfa (lu- 
cern leaves) fed in winter has the same effect on 
eggs as grass has during the spring and summer 



Il6 WINTER EGG PRODUCTION 

months. Alfalfa has proven itself a very valuable 
food for dairy cows, and it is becoming just as popu- 
lar with poultry raisers as a winter food for hens. 

Alfalfa when properly cured possesses 14 per cent 
of crude protein while red clover possesses 12 per 
cent and mangel roots only i^ per cent of crude 
protein. The third and fourth crops of alfalfa are 
most suited for poultry food. 

Usually the pullets are the best winter layers; it 
is therefore advisable to keep as many pullets as 
possible, if winter eggs are desired in large numbers. 
Pullets that start laying in November, if given the 
proper care, housing, and feeding will keep up the 
pace all through the cold weather. 



CHAPTER XXII 

OVERCROWDING 

Overstocking is one of the common mistakes of 
the amateur poultry raiser. His enthusiasm has run 
high and his zeal is apt to get the best of him. Ca- 
pacity must be reckoned with ; it means much in the 
way of proper results, and figures extensively in the 
profits to be derived from the enterprise. 

It is just as unreasonable to expect to operate a 
large poultry plant in a small back yard as it is to 
operate a big manufacturing plant in a small build- 
ing. In either case the business would be unprofit- 
able to say the least, and would soon be given up as 
a failure. 

Many losses among both chicks and grown-up 
fowls can be attributed to overcrowding. Our do- 
mestic fowl can stand considerable confinement, pro- 
viding, of course, it receives the proper food and 
attention, but it cannot withstand the hardship of 
being kept in large numbers in a small space. Too 
many fowls in a small space will breed disease, re- 
sulting in a rundown flock and many deaths. 

Hens when overcrowded will not produce the 

proper amount of eggs, and those eggs which are 

laid will not bring forth the healthy and vigorous 

chicks. Overcrowding often causes feather eating, 

117 



Il8 OVERCROWDING 

one of the worst habits affecting a flock of fowls. 
It is also one of the causes for roup, diarrhea, and 
cholera, and when one of these diseases makes its 
appearance conditions are favorable for a rapid 
spreading of the disease, transmitting it to every 
specimen in the flock. 

The danger of falling a victim to this mistake does 
not lie in the first year's operation of the poultry 
plant, but the second and third year usually open the 
temptations to the inexperienced to exceed the ca- 
pacity limit. By that time his ambitions have grown, 
his little flock has done well, poultry keeping in the 
small way has proven profitable. Why not make 
four times the profit he is now making? The deci- 
sion is made to keep just four times as many fowls * 
on the same size lot, and in many cases the same 
sized houses. The inevitable results are contaminated 
runs and stuffy, foul aired houses, breeding the 
germs of disease and weakening the strain of birds. 
Thus instead of increasing the profits they are com- 
pletely wiped out, leaving a deficit on the account 
books. 

In many cases overstocking the capacity of the 
plant is caused by the inability of the amateur to 
properly cull his flock, or possibly lack of judgment 
in disposing of the surplus in the season when the 
demand is the best. The one who has paid fancy 
prices for his starting stock or eggs for hatching 
naturally expects, and has a perfect right to expect, 



OVERCROWDING II9 

better than the ordinary market prices for the surplus 
birds and eggs. 

One of the hardest problems for the inexperienced 
to solve is how to sell the surplus fancy stock at the 
best advantage. It is unreasonable to expect the 
buyers to know about his surplus unless he tells 
them about it. Every poultry raiser who expects to 
sell fancy poultry at good prices must of necessity 
spend some money for advertising. How is any one 
to know that he has anything to sell unless he 
announces the fact? 

First of all, the breeder must know when to adver- 
tise; second, how much to spend for advertising; 
third, where to advertise, and last but not least, how 
to close the sale when the inquiry is made. Sales- 
manship cuts some figure in the successful disposing 
of surplus birds or fancy eggs. The most successful 
poultry sellers are those who know how to follow up 
an inquiry. 

The amateur must also keep in mind the fact that 
every bird he raises cannot be sold at a fancy price. 
Although the original stock has come from the best 
strain and has been mated for the best results as to 
standard requirements, etc., there will still be speci- 
mens unworthy of demanding the better prices. 

Like does not always beget like in fancy stock 
raising; the best often produce only birds of ordinary 
quality, lacking in many points necessary to make 
them good birds to breed from. The breeder who 



120 OVERCROWDING 

wishes to build up the most honorable reputation will 
do well to use the hatchet quite freely when culling 
time comes. Do not expect others to use fowls for 
breeding which you would not care to use in your 
own yards. 

The careful breeder will cull his flock closely, for 
upon it depends the successful building up of both 
a strain and a reputation. Amateurs should keep 
this advice foremost in their minds at all times. It 
is the big secret of building up a successful future 
in the poultry business. 



CHAPTER XXIII 

ADVANTAGES OF SMALL FLOCKS 

There are several advantages in keeping a small 
flock. It is a more concentrated effort on the part 
of the operator of a small poultry plant, which in 
most cases means better care and attention. Of 
course this is not always the result, and should not 
be construed as an incentive not to breed poultry 
on an extensive scale. Some of the large poultry 
farms of today are conducted very successfully, and 
are showing handsome profits on their investments, 
but the percentage is smaller. 

On a small poultry plant the operator, as a rule, 
does all of the work personally, it is an individual 
effort on his part without any assistance whatso- 
ever. He becomes better acquainted with each 
individual fowl upon the place; he soon discovers 
their shortcomings, and keeps in close touch with 
their development and health. If he is interested 
as he should be, seldom will a sick bird escape his 
notice, nor will he fail to notice a brood of chicks 
which do not show the proper growth. 

The one who keeps poultry in a small way can 
make conditions more ideal for the hens, he can 
supply to the fowls more beneficial articles, of food, 
such as table scraps, which could not so easily be 

121 



122 ADVANTAGES OF SMALL FLOCKS 

supplied to the fowls of a more extensive plant. 
Even though he be an amateur he will soon learn 
the wants of the hens, and what is best for the flock 
kept under the particular conditions of his plant. 
Different conditions require different feeding and 
care, and it is not always best to follow a set rule 
or method along this line. 

The greatest contention of the extensive poultry- 
raiser is help. Good, reliable help for a poultry 
farm is difficult to obtain. Inexperienced help must 
be closely watched, and experienced help often have 
ideas of their own not in harmony with the operator. 
The one who must depend largely upon his help 
to look after his hens is liable to be disappointed 
in the management of his flock, unless he knows 
with certainty that such employees have the ability 
to conduct the plant successfully. The trouble with 
many of the poultry farms seems to be the employ- 
ment of cheap help, they fail to realize the impor- 
tance of having men look after their stock who are 
sufficiently versed in poultr)' keeping to get the best 
results possible from the stock and equipment at 
hand. Many dollars are lost by such a false 
economy policy. 

The intensive poultry raiser can look after every 
detail himself. He sets his own hens, oj>erates his 
incubators and brooders, feeds his stock, gathers 
the eggs, culls the cripples and weaklings, and per- 
sonally keeps the houses clean and sanitary. His 



ADVANTAGES OF SMALL FLOCKS 123 

money is invested in the enterprise, and he realizes 
that upon his personal efforts depends the success 
of such an undertaking. 

Even some of the larger poultry farms divide 
their pens in small flocks, claiming that they get 
better results from this method, and reduce the dan- 
gers of an epidemic of a contagious disease to a 
minimum. Breeders of poultry for show purposes 
invariably adopt this method, as it makes it pos- 
sible to mate the various breeding pens for certain 
points which could not be obtained as easily in any 
other manner. 



CHAPTER XXIV 

INTENSIVE AND EXTENSIVE POULTRY FARMING 

Prof. James Dryden of the department of poultry 
husbandry, Oregon Agricultural College and Experi- 
ment Station, has this to say on extensive and 
intensive poultry culture: 

"It is possible for a family to make a living 
on a city lot from a dozen hens if the family tastes 
are not extravagant, and, again, if big enough 
prices are secured for the eggs laid by the hens. 
We must consider the prices. There should be 
breeding farms in all sections of the country if our 
stock of fowls is to be improved, and there should 
be in every community or country men and women 
who give their special attention to the production 
of improved strains of fowls, whether the point to 
aim at is eggs or show points. 

"There are many different systems of poultry 
farming, and in speaking of profits the distinction 
should be kept in mind. There are possibilities of 
profit in farms in which profits are added to by 
selling at least part of the product for breeding 
purposes at high prices. If a man makes a living 
on a city lot it does not mean that he made it by 
selling his eggs and poultry at ordinary market 
prices. 

124 



INTENSIVE POULTRY FARMING 



125 



"Whatever may be the dividing line between 
extensive and intensive poultry farming, or what- 
ever the point one merges into the other, it will be 
readily assented to that a poultry farm of 100 
acres, occupied by from 1,000 to 5,000 hens, is 
extensive poultry farming. On the other hand, it 
will also be understood that a farm of four acres, 
on which 1,000 or 3,000 hens are kept, is intensive 
poultry farming, and it must be conducted under 
intensive methods. 

" At what point by extending the acreage without 
increasing the flock, or increasing the flock with- 
out extending the acreage, a farm becomes more 
extensive on the one hand or intensive on the other, 
may be open to debate. Poultry keeping must neces- 
sarily be intensive on two or three acres, where the 
owner depends upon the products of the poultry 
yards for a living for himself and family. Any 
poultry farm up to ten acres, where enough fowls 
are kept to keep a family, will require more or less 
intensive methods, 

"Probably the best way to define an extensive 
poultry farm would be on the basis of so many 
fowls per acre, or on an acreage basis. Fifty fowls 
per acre or less would certainly come under the 
extensive system, and it may be that the limit could 
be increased to 100 per acre. When, however, we 
reach 100 per acre we are getting to a point where 
the |)Oultryman must resort to artificial methods, 



126 INTENSIVE POULTRY FARMING 

more or less, in keeping the yards or land in proper 
condition for maintaining the health and vigor of 
the fowls. This raises another point. Soil varies 
and the climate varies to such an extent that fifty 
might be a safe limit in one case and loo in another. 
More than fifty fowls an acre on certain soil and in 
certain climates might require intensive methods, 
while 200 per acre on other soil and under other 
climatic conditions might not require any very 
intensive culture. 

"The nature of the soil and the climate must 
be considered. An open, porous, well drained soil 
is more favorable for intensive poultry culture than 
a heavy clay soil. That is, 100 fowls might be 
kept on an open porous soil with less danger from 
soil contamination than fifty on a heavy clay soil. 
So it cannot be stated definitely that a certain 
number of fowls per acre within certain limits 
means either extensive or intensive culture. This 
fact should be borne in mind in reading the account 
I shall give of some intensive poultry farms. 

"On one farm the total egg yield for 1909 was 
86,519. The yield for the following year up to 
Oct. I was 90,870. The total receipts for the 
first year were $6,493.41 ; the last year until Oct. 
I J $5>235.48. The statement showed that the 
receipts for eggs and poultry and the receipts for 
breeding stock and eggs for hatching were about 
equal. The flock was bred along utility lines, but 



INTENSIVE POULTRY FARMING 127 

the farmer had some show birds and they brought 
a good price. The highest price he received for 
market eggs was 55 cents and the lowest 18 cents 
per dozen. The best month in ^gg yield during the 
first year was March; the poorest November. 
The second year the April yield slightly exceeded 
that for March. While this agrees with conditions 
in the cold eastern states, I should expect, were the 
figures obtainable, that there would be a higher 
percentage production here in the winter months 
than in the cold states, due to a more favorable 
winter climate. The eggs were sold to retail 
dealers, though quite a number were sold for incu- 
bation purposes at $6 per hundred. He has secured 
as high as $25 for a breeding cockerel, though he 
makes no specialty of breeding fancy stock. 

"The system of feeding includes a dry mash 
feed in the morning. The formula is as follows : 
Bran, 640 pounds ; ground barley, 200 pounds ; feed 
meal, 300 pounds; shorts, 360 pounds; blood meal, 
100 pounds; fine bone, 50 pounds; alfalfa meal, 
100 pounds; beef scrap, 200 pounds; oil cake meal, 
100 pounds; charcoal, 20 pounds. 

" In the evening wheat, barley, cracked corn, etc., 
are fed. For green food, kale, swiss chard, lawn 
clippings, etc., are fed. Sometimes grain is sown 
in the runs and plowed under. When the grain 
sprouts the chickens scratch it up, thus getting 
green feed and exercise. This farmer has thor- 



128 INTENSIVE POULTRY FARMING 

oughly learned the importance of cultivating and 
growing crops in the yards to keep them in a sani- 
tary condition, and his yards all showed that they 
had intelligent care. 

"One of the most interesting of intensive poul- 
try farms that I have seen is situated near the Old 
San Gabriel mission, not far from Los Angeles. 
Here is another 'ranch' of four acres where 2,500 
layers are kept, and the same ground has been used 
continuously for five years or more. We are accus- 
tomed to saying that it is impossible to keep chickens 
successful year after year on the same ground, but 
here is an apparent contradiction. Up to date no 
serious calamity seems to have befallen the fowls 
on account of soil contamination. 

"It is, of course, another question whether the 
farm can be continued for another five years 
without showing symptoms of collapse; but a few 
explanations are needed here. A little discrimina- 
tion is required. The poultry man must be able to 
discriminate so as to suit his system of poultry keep- 
ing to his conditions. What suits one man in one 
location won't suit one man in another, and the only 
thing that will save the poultry man is his own head. 
He must be able to decide for himself, after all, 
what is the best for him in his particular locality. 

" When I say that here for from five to six years 
fowls have been kept successfully in large numbers 
on a small piece of ground, I know a great many 



INTENSIVE POULTRY FARMING 129 

will be inclined to question the statement. Others, 
with less reason, will go and do likewise. Now the 
only thing that has saved this ranch from collapse 
has been the soil. The soil is very light and some- 
what gravelly and the rains do about as good a 
job on it as a vacuum cleaner does on a carpet. 
This with the bright sunshine has enabled the owners 
to do something that could be done in probably 
few places in the country." 



CHAPTER XXV 

PROPER VENTILATION 

The most important feature in a poultry house is 
proper ventilation. An efificient system of ventila- 
tion affords an abundance of fresh air without 
drafts. Fresh air keeps the house pure and dry. 
Nothing will cause disease more readily than a damp 
house or one which has a foul odor. 

There are several ways to supply ventilation, but 
the simplest and least expensive is to have an open 
or muslin covered front. These open fronts on 
the houses should be protected in some way to pre- 
vent the rains and snows from being blown into the 
interior. It is a good plan to attach an awning 
made of wood or some other light material, arranged 
in such a manner that it can be lowered or raised. 

Muslin will keep out the snow and rain to a 
certain extent, but when it gets wet the cloth loses 
some of its merit as a ventilator, as damp muslin 
will not permit a free passage of air. By protect- 
ing the muslin with an awning it will not be affected 
in that way. The muslin should be put on a frame 
so that it can be removed on a pleasant day, allow- 
ing fresh air to circulate through the house on such 
days. 

If the ceiling or walls of the henhouse are damp it 

130 



PROPER VENTILATION 131 

is not properly ventilated. Any odor is sufficient 
evidence that the house is not properly aired. 

Drafts are just as injurious to the health of the 
flock as improper ventilation is and must be care- 
fully guarded against. Drafts can be avoided by 
having all openings on the end of the house, pre- 
ferably the south end. Have the north and west 
ends or sides built as tightly as possible and well 
protected from the winds. 

A glass front house causes extremes in tempera- 
ture, warming up in the day time and then turning 
cold with the setting of the sun. This is also apt 
to cause disease and make the fowls' combs and 
wattles more sensitive to frosts. The open muslin 
front is by far the best and at the same time the 
least expensive. Some glass may be used, but not 
exclusively. 

Poultry to be healthy must have plenty of fresh 
air. They must breathe this fresh air all the time, 
at night as well as during the day. The carbon 
dioxide gases are expelled by the fowls in the pro- 
cess of breathing, and these should not again be 
inhaled, but pure fresh oxygen should go into their 
lungs, if we expect our poultry to be healthy and 
vigorous. Many of the flocks which have a ten- 
dency to be delicate, are kept in houses not supplied 
with the proper amount of fresh air. 

In supplying the hens with this necessary fresh 
air there is no necessity to expose them to draughts. 



132 PROPER VENTILATION 

The old method of building poultry houses was to 
make them as air-tight as possible, and then to 
obtain what was then called ventilation, various 
forms of ventilators, some from the floor and 
others from the top, were constructed, believing as 
we did in those days that such contrivances would 
do the work properly. These . houses were also 
heated, thus making the fowls as delicate as hot- 
house plants. The up-to-date poultry man now has 
discarded these old ideas, and no matter whether he 
keeps poultry in Maine or Louisiana he uses the 
open front poultry houses, and finds that his poultry 
keeps much healthier, and does better than when the 
air-tight houses were used. 

Fresh air poultry keeping has developed within 
the last few years and it has experienced every 
weather condition in all parts of this country, and in 
no case has it proven anything but a big success. 
It has diminished disease amongst poultry, and has 
made the flocks more vigorous, thus helping to 
make them more productive. Its introduction has 
solved a perplexing question for the poultry raiser, 
it is a boon to the industry and a great benefit to 
our feathered tribe that is just beginning to be felt. 

An open front house can be cheaply constructed 
and still answer the purpose for which it is intended. 
It is not how much you put into a house, but how 
you build it, construction is ail, and means much 
for the health of your flock. Ornamentations add 



PROPER VENTILATION 133' 

to the appearance, but plans made according to 
hygienic principles make for the comforts of the 
inmates, and after all, that should be the first thought 
in poultry house construction. 

In climates where the weather does not get too 
severe houses of this construction need no other 
arrangements for the comforts of the birds, but in 
localities where the thermometer gets down near or 
below the zero mark, curtain front perches should 
also be provided. These drop curtains in front of 
the perches will provide ample protection to the 
fowls in the coldest of weather, and not prevent 
them from being supplied with fresh air during the 
roosting hours. These curtains may be made of 
burlap or muslin, hung from the top, covering the 
entire roosting space from the top down. If the 
roosts are shorter than the building, side curtains 
must also be provided for the ends of the perches. 
Either have these curtains put on frames or hung 
loose with a weight on the bottom to keep them 
in position. In other words this roosting place 
should be a box-like room, without any openings 
whatever on the ends and back. 

I would advise that these roost curtains be cleaned 
and disinfected at certain intervals so that they will 
always be in a sanitary condition. A good idea is 
to change them each fall, the material is cheap. 

Houses constructed on this principle are free from 
dampness, prevent roup, are perfectly ventilated and 



134 PROPER VENTILATION 

free from bad odors both day and night. Every 
beginner should by all means construct or purchase 
open front poultry houses, if he or she wants a 
vigorous and healthy flock of fowls. It is the last 
word in poultry construction, and is used at all the 
state, government, and other experiment stations, 
also by the progressive fancy and market poultry 
beeders of today. 

In a cold climate it is advisable to keep the 
fowls hardened to the cold. Turn the hens out 
in the runs on sunny days even if the weather 
is a bit cold. When the air is still and there is no 
snow on the ground even the large combed varieties, 
such as Leghorns and Minorcas may be safely 
turned out in the pens. Hens can stands lots of 
severe weather if they are not brought up like hot 
house plants. They are well protected with feathers, 
and if provided with the proper feed and exercise 
will keep very comfortable in the coldest of weather. 
In fact hens do better when out in the air away from 
their roosting quarters. 

If fowls are started out right in the fall, they will 
go through the severest of winter weather without 
much trouble. Do not house your stock closely in 
the fall and expect it to do well when the cold 
winter days are here. Get them accustomed with 
the weather conditions and they harden with the 
seasons. 

Many a good show bird has gone to pieces by 



PROPER VENTILATION 135 

being housed too closely. Amateurs, as a ruie, when 
they buy a fine specimen at a good price, are so 
afraid something will happen to their valuable pur- 
chase that they are afraid to expose the bird to- even 
the least fresh air, and as a consequence the once 
valuable show specimen deteriorates. Plenty of 
fresh air will not hurt animal life, in fact, it is 
absolutely necessary, and what is true of other ani- 
mals is also true of poultry — fresh air, and plenty 
of it, is the rule. 



CHAPTER XXVI 



WHY HENS DON T LAY 



" Why don't my hens lay?" This by itself is a hard 
question to answer, in fact, it is unanswerable unless 
the seeker of information goes into details as to the 
general care, housing, and condition of the flock. 
Even when all these details are given the desired 
advice is not easily supplied. 

For instance, one beginner writes as follows: 

"My hens are yearlings of the White Leghorn 
variety. They are fed on the best scratching food 
obtainable, deep litter feeding, with a well balanced 
mash at noon. A hopper placed before them con- 
tains a supply of grit, oyster shells, charcoal, and 
dry beef scraps. Every day they get green food, and 
plenty of fresh water, also raw meat twice a week. 
And still no eggs." 

This is only one of the many. Surely he is not 
far wrong on his feeding, provided, of course, he 
does not overfeed. Presuming that he does give 
them about the right amount, what is the trouble 
with his flock? It might be the housing or perhaps 
the condition of the house. 

There are other things besides wrong feeding and 
old age which will produce a non-laying flock. There 
are things which are just as important to the hen's 

136 



WHY HENS DON'T LAY • 137 

welfare as the different foods and the water. Just 
as important, and more so, than the variety of fowls 
kept, and just as important as the grits, charcoal, 
etc. Notwithstanding the fact that the hens are 
getting the foods necessary to make eggs and 
plenty of exercise in deep litter to prevent laziness, 
it may still be possible for the hens to be in 
such a condition that the production of eggs is 
impossible. 

The question then is what has put the hens in 
such a condition. 

Poorly constructed or damp houses may be the 
cause for such nonlaying condition of the hens, 
improper ventilation or overcrowding of the laying 
houses, or perhaps unclean, insanitary surroundings. 
At certain seasons of the year vermin may also 
cause such a condition of the laying stock, or in 
the fall and early winter months molting of feathers 
will cause the hens to stop laying. 

The changing of the birds from one quarter to 
the other will stop the hens laying for a short time. 
Beginners buying a flock of hens or pullets and mov- 
ing them into their new home should not expect 
them to do their duty until they are accustomed to 
their surroundings, which ofttimes takes about 
three weeks. 

In the majority of cases it is not the hens' fault 
for not laying, it is the keeper's. 



CHAPTER XXVII 

BREAKING UP A BROODY HEN 

Broody hens about the premises when not needed 
are a source of loss and their brooding should be 
broken up as soon as possible. Some claim that 
hens show signs of broodiness when they need a 
rest, but this is not always the case. If this were 
true some hens would need a rest most of the spring 
and summer. 

There are hens which lay only a few eggs and 
then become broody. This certainly is not caused by 
natural conditions. Some breeds are naturally more 
broody than others, and then again we have hens 
which get the setting fever from being too fat. 

There are various methods for breaking up a 
broody hen, some of which are exceedingly cruel. 
One of these cruel methods is to dip the hen in 
cold water. A hen when she is in a broody con- 
dition naturally has a high temperature, and to 
treat her to a cold water cure at that time produces 
a severe shock to the system which may terminate 
disastrously. There are more humane methods 
which serve the purpose just as well. Another 
method which should be condemned is putting the 
hen in a tight box for several days without food or 
water. When the hen is released from this solitary 

138 



BREAKING UP A BROODY HEN 139 

confinement she is in most cases more dead than 
alive, and of course such treatment will affect her 
vitality. 

Here is a simple and civilized method for break- 
ing up a broody hen : When a hen becomes broody 
let her sit for a few days in order to give her system 
time to recuperate and at the same time making it 
easier to get her out of the habit when she is once 
taken in hand for treatment. After she has had 
her few days' stay on the nest put her in an airy 
and roomy coop, the bottom of which is made of 
strips, with plenty of air space so as to permit ample 
circulation. Suspend this coop in the air, thus per- 
mitting plenty of air from the bottom. Feed lightly, 
but supply with fresh water. The hen knows 
only too well that she must have warmth from below 
in order to hatch anything, and she will soon realize 
that her case is hopeless and give it up as a bad job. 



CHAPTER XXVIII 

A GENERAL OVERHAULING 

At the end of the breeding season, and imme- 
diately after the breeding pens have been broken up 
a general house cleaning should take place. Even 
though the houses have had their weekly cleanup, a 
complete renovation is advisable. Everything should 
be thoroughly overhauled. It may seem a big task 
but when completed the general appearance and 
freshness about the place will repay you for all the 
labor. 

Much labor can be saved by forethought in the 
construction of buildings and fixtures. The interior 
fixtures of an up to date poultry house should be 
removable, easily taken out, and easily put into 
place again. The roosts, nest boxes, dropping 
boards, etc., should be so constructed that they caii 
be taken out of the house, where they can be care- 
fully overhauled, disinfected, and whitewashed. 
All the nesting material should be burned and clean, 
fresh straw put into each nesting box. Sweep off 
the walls and ceilings of the houses and put on a 
new coat of good whitewash. Before putting on the 
whitewash it is advisable to disinfect the house. A 
spray pump will do this work thoroughly and make 

I4.0 



A GENERAL OVERHAULING 141 

it possible to reach every crack and crevice about 
the place. 

If the floors are of dirt, take four or five inches off 
the top and put in new soil. Should this not be 
done there will in time come a foul odor from such 
neglected floors which will endanger the health of 
your ^ flock. Always have the dirt floors several 
inches higher than the ground surrounding the 
building, thus preventing the rains from coming in. 
One of the main things in a poultry house should 
be dryness. Dampness will raise havoc with the 
most vigorous stock, and more diseases are attributed 
to it than any other cause. 

Boil all the drinking vessels and thoroughly clean 
all feeding hoppers, grit boxes, etc. Do not keep 
any leaky drinking founts, no matter how little they 
leak. They are a cause of dampness. Never use 
any vessels that cannot be cleaned. 

During the house cleaning one should also make 
a careful inspection of the roofs to see that none 
of these are weather worn. A good tight roof means 
much to the comfort of the inmates. 

If there is any glass in the house, give it a good 
washing; tighten up all loose panes; and a coat of 
good paint on the sash will help to preserve it. 
Many window sashes go to pieces for want of paint. 
A few pennies spent at the right time for paint 
may save you dollars in the end. 

All wooden floors and dropping boards should be 



142 A GENERAL OVERHAULING 

scrubbed with a strong disinfectant solution. A 
coating of lice paint on the roosts is also advisable. 

After the houses have been thoroughly cleaned and 
disinfected, put some clean, fresh litter on the floors. 
Then let the hens back into their homes, sprinkle 
some scratch feed into the litter, and watch the flock 
enjoy their clean quarters. They will soon show 
their appreciation of bright surroundings by increas- 
ing the egg yield. 

The next to tackle arc the pens or runs, and the 
smaller they are the more thoroughly they should be 
cleaned, raked, and scraped. A good spading will 
make them fresh and sanitary. Also inspect the 
fencing, which perhaps needs repairing. 

All the brooders and brood coops not in use should 
be gathered up and put under shelter. A little fore- 
thought in that direction will save much wear and 
tear on these appliances. Before storing these 
away, give them a good cleaning and disinfecting, 
so that they will be in a sanitary condition when 
they are brought out again for another season's 
usage. 

A poultry raiser who has the proper interest in 
his business takes delight in having everything about 
the plant clean and sanitary. Those are the ones 
who will, nine times out of ten, make a success of 
the business. No one need expect good results 
when the comfort of the fowls is neglected. Neglect 
and carelessness are bound to spell failure to any 



A GENERAL OVERHAULING 143 

poultry raiser, no matter how carefully he or she 
has selected the stock or how much was invested in 
the buildings and appliances. One cannot expect to 
run a poultry plant, be it ever so small, without do- 
ing some work. Proper conditions must exist in 
poultry yards to get the proper results. Hens will 
not lay if they receive poor treatment — that is a 
settled fact. 



CHAPTER XXIX 



INFERIOR FOOD 



The health of a flock of fowls is often jeopardized 
by the quality and quantity of food. Damaged 
foods, such as moldy grains, old musty beef scraps, 
decayed vegetable matter, tainted meat, or green 
cut bones, and improperly cured alfalfa, are the 
common causes of a large percentage of the diseases 
affecting poultry. 

Too much care cannot be exercised in purchas- 
ing the various grain foods, and the saving of a few 
cents on the bushel should offer no inducement to the 
poultry raiser to buy the cheaper grades. It pays 
to buy the best, and even then a careful inspection 
should be made to ascertain that the quality is what 
it should be and what it has been represented to be. 
Very often feed dealers, aware of the fact that the 
grains are to be fed to chickens, will not be particular 
about sending the best, even though the price was 
paid, thinking, no doubt, that anything is good 
enough for chickens. The best plan is to visit the 
dealer, examine the feed personally, secure a sample, 
and upon delivery make sure that the grain received 
is up to the standard of the sample. 

Grain which has been water soaked and then per- 
mitted to dry is unfit for poultry food ; and in most 

T44 



INFERIOR FOOD I45 

cases it can easily be detected by the musty odor. 
Such grains are often sold by feed dealers as poultry 
feed, some of which is nothing more or less than 
the salvage of some elevator fire. Grain thus 
damaged cannot be sold for milling purposes, and 
is Therefore palmed off on the poor, helpless hen, 
which is supposed not to have much of a taste, and 
is able to subsist and do very well on almost any 
thing. That, at least, is the theory of many of 
the grain dealers, and in many cases the everyday 
man who has not had any experience in poultry 
raising. 

Poultry, both fowls and chicks, must have a 
variety of wholesome, palatable and nourishing- 
food, and unless the food given contains these quali- 
fications, the birds will not do well — the hens will not 
lay, the chicks will not grow and the hospital is very 
apt to become crowded. 

During the summer months be careful about feed- 
ing sprouted oats, for oats sprouted in boxes during 
hot weather are very apt to be moldy, in which con- 
dition it is dangerous, causing indigestion, sour crop, 
diarrhoea, or other bowel troubles. 

Special attention should be given to the animal 
matter fed to the fowls. Ground meat or green 
cut bone should not be permitted to stand around 
in warm weather, both of these should be ground 
and fed fresh each day. If this cannot be done, I 
would advise feeding the dry beef scraps sold by 



146 INFERIOR FOOD 

poultry dealers, but even these must be of a high 
grade and properly prepared. Always place the beef 
scrap hoppers in a shady place, as the scraps are 
very liable to be affected by exposure to the hot 
^ummer sun. 

Do not feed the stock too heavy; overfeeding 
causes the majority of cases of indigestion, bowel 
trouble, diseases of the liver, and other ailments of 
the intestines and crop. Poultry to be fattened for 
the market can be fed heavily, but don't stuff the 
layers or the growing chicks. There is no positive 
rule on how much to feed each hen, or each chick 
at its various size and age, and this knowledge can 
only be gained by experience. Some birds require 
more feed than others, and the only safe rule is to 
feed them all that they will eat up clean at each 
feeding. If fed too much the fowls will pick out 
certain grains which they like the best and leave 
the others, and in that way possibly be without the 
very grains which are the best for them, and which 
help to make a well balanced ration, mixed to pro- 
duce certain results. Overfed hens will become 
inactive and unprofitable. 



CHAPTER XXX 

SUPPLYING GREEN FOODS 

A PROBLEM that confronts, or should confront, 
every poultry raiser is how to supply the flock with 
green food all the year around. The amateur will 
ask: "How am I going to supply my birds with 
green food in the dead of winter?" The answer is 
that there is not a raiser of poultry, no matter where 
located, who cannot produce green food during every 
season in the year. 

In summer green food can be supplied with 
scarcely any exertion. H there is room enough to 
raise poultry there is also room enough to raise 
greens. The succulent juices of green foods promote 
digestion, and good digestion means healthy fowls, 
while healthy fowls mean productive and profitable 
fowls. Hens must have these succulent juices in 
sufficient quantities in order to produce a creditable 
number of eggs. Green food is as much a neces- 
sity to fowls as oil is to machinery. You can damage 
your flock of poultry as much by the omission of 
green food as you can damage machinery by not 
supplying the proper amount of oil. 

During the spring, lawn clippings, especially those 
that contain clover, are very good, and are easily 

147 



148 SUPPLYING GREEN FOODS 

obtained. The backyarder may also plant a small 
bed of lettuce and replant as the season advances. 

In summer oats may be planted in place of the 
lettuce. Oats grow very rapidly and the green 
blades are excellent food. Rye is advisable for fall, 
as it will keep green all winter. Rape sown not 
quite so thick as oats or rye is very hardy, grows 
rapidly, gives an abundance of succulent juices, and 
is relished by the fowls. Summer is a good time to 
plant this seed and it will supply green food for the 
flock until late in the fall. 

Apples and tomatoes, those not fit for the market, 
are also excellent feed; in fact, any fruit is relished 
by the fowls. Onions and onion tops stimulate the 
action of the liver and are healthy foods, but if fed 
to excess have a tendency to affect the flavor of the 
meat as well as the flavor of the eggs. Growing 
chicks may be fed onions in any quantity and it will 
do them considerable good. 

Cabbage is an old standby as a winter poultry 
green food. It is easily grown and can be put away 
for winter use. The large, solid heads may be used 
for the table and the culls kept for the fowls. 
Always keep the cabbage patch well cultivated and 
free from weeds. Store the cabbage in a cellar or 
put it into a hole, covering the top with boards, then 
cover the tops of the boards with earth, leaving an 
opening at one end from which to extract the heads 
as needed. As soon as the ground freezes the cab- 



SUPPLYING GREEN FOODS 149 

bage will also freeze and remain frozen all winter, 
thus supplying an excellent green food all winter. 
The best method for feeding cabbage is to hang it 
on a nail just within easy reach of the fowls. 
Always thaw it before feeding. 

There are several root vegetables which make 
good green food for winter use, chief among which 
are mangels. They will thrive in any climate and 
require little ground. They should be sown early 
in the season. Harvest them before frost and store 
in the cellar. 

Turnips and rutabagas are also popular winter 
poultry foods. They should be sown the early part 
of August and if put on clean ground require very 
little attention. Raw potatoes are also quite exten- 
sively used and are preferable to cooked potatoes, 
which have a tendency to fatten the laying hens. 
This is especially true of the heavier breeds. Some 
feed whole potatoes, while others chop them up fine 
and put them into the mashes. Small cull potatoes, 
not good for table use, may be purchased very^ 
reasonably in the fall. 

Alfalfa and green cut clover, when properly cured, 
are very good as winter green foods. These may be 
purchased at poultry supply stores in almost any 
quantity. In alfalfa there are three grades — meal, 
shredded, and short cut. 

The meal and shredded are used in the mashes; 



I50 SUPPLYING GREEN FOODS 

many of the commercial ground and mixed mashes 
contain a proper percentage of these. 

Cut and well cured clover is also used as a winter 
green food, but not as extensively as formerly. 
Alfalfa is better. 

Sprouted oats is also used as a fall and winter 
green food diet. Some breeders who feed nothing 
else have excellent success. 

With the many excellent green foods mentioned 
there should be no difficulty in selecting some which 
you can raise or buy and thus give your fowls some- 
thing which nature requires they should have. 



CHAPTER XXXI 

GENERAL FEEDING 

It is a well known fact that up to the last few years 
most farmers fed their flocks on an exclusive corn 
diet, but since many of the farmers have added 
wheat and oats to the daily ration there has been 
noted a substantial improvement in the egg yield of 
farm flocks. This fact is borne out by government 
reports on the subject. 

Fowls properly housed should be fed in the ratio 
of one part protein or muscle producing compound 
to four parts of carbohydrates or heat and fat pro- 
ducing compounds. 

A mixed ration is preferable, but where one single 
grain is to be fed oats without a doubt comes 
nearest being the ideal food. Wheat is much prefer- 
able to corn. In feeding oats it is best to feed that 
from which the hull has been removed. A little 
buckwheat is all right, but if fed too heavily it will 
produce a light colored yolk in the eggs. 

Fowls do much better on a mixed ration, and 
although this mixed ration may contain the same 
nutritive ratio, nevertheless the results obtained are 
better. They seem to relish their meals more when 
a variety of grains is fed, and a larger percentage 
of the whole ration is digested. 

151 



152 GENERAL FEEDING 

Regularity in feeding is of great importance in 
order to get the proper results from the flock. Feed 
the hens their various meals at certain times, and do 
not let the time vary very much from one day to the 
other. The old saying, " There is a time for every- 
thing," should be strictly heeded in the poultry busi- 
ness. It is just as important when you feed as it is 
how you feed and what you feed. 

It is also essential to feed the breeders correctly 
during the hatching season to obtain fertile, hatch- 
able eggs with strong germs. They should be fed 
foods which will strengthen their constitutions but 
not too fattening. Hard grains, dry mashes, plenty 
of green food, and animal matter, together with 
grit, oyster shells, and charcoal, produce the best 
results. 

Powdered charcoal should not be fed in the mash, 
it is not a feed, but a medicine. It purifies the blood 
and absorbs noxious gases generated in digestion. 
By feeding it in the mash the fowls eat more of it 
than what they require. Use the coarser grades of 
charcoal and feed it from a hopper or other feed- 
ing utensil, thus permitting the fowls to partake of 
it when necessary. 

In feeding dry beef scraps use only the very 
best quality obtainable. Some of the so-called scraps 
sold are nothing more than fertilizers, and are 
entirely unfit for poultry food. A good article can 



GENERAL FEEDING 153" 

be detected by scalding, it should have the odor of 
cooked meat. 

Milk in almost any form is an excellent food. It 
may be given as a drink or used in the mash in place 
of water. Skim milk and buttermilk are in most 
common use. 

Stale bread may be used with perfect freedom, it 
containing nearly the nutrient ratio of wheat. It 
may be used in the mash or otherwise. 

The laying hens should have a supply of crushed 
or ground oyster shells before them at all times. 
They furnish the material for egg shells. 



CHAPTER XXXII 

MARKETING AND GRADING EGGS 

Proper marketing and grading of eggs is a subject 
which does not receive the careful attention its 
importance deserves. It is neglected mostly by the 
smaller egg producer, who perhaps is not posted on 
market conditions, or knows very little about the 
losses which are bound to result from lack of 
attention to grading. 

The bureau of animal industry. United States 
department of agriculture, has issued a very interest- 
ing bulletin on the grading of eggs for market pur- 
poses, from which I quote the various grades as 
follows : 

"Fresh Eggs — An egg to be accepted as a first 
class, or fresh egg, must be newly laid, clean, of 
normal size, showing a very small air cell, and must 
have a strong, smooth shell, of even color, and free 
from cracks. With the exception of the air cell, 
which is only visible through the aid of the candle, 
these are the points by which eggs are graded in the 
early spring, at which time they are quite uniform in 
quality, thereby making candling unnecessary. 

"Checks — This term applies to eggs which are 
cracked but not leaking. 

"Leakers — As indicated by the name, this term 

154 



MARKETING AND GRADING EGGS 155 

applies to eggs which have lost a part of their 
contents. 

" Seconds — The term * seconds ' applies to eggs 
which have deteriorated to a sufficient extent as to 
be rejected as firsts. They are, however, of a high 
enough quality to be used for human consumption. 
The several classes of eggs which go to make up this 
grade may be defined as follows : 

" (a) Heated &gg'. One in which the embryo has 
proceeded to a point corresponding to about 18 to 
24 hours' normal incubation. In the infertile ^gg 
this condition can be recognized by the increased 
color of the yolk; when held before the candle it will 
appear heavy and slightly darker than the fertile tgg. 

" (b) Shrunken tgg: This class of seconds can 
be easily distinguished by the size of the air cell. 
It may occupy from one-fifth to one-third of the 
space inside the shell. The holding of the eggs for 
a sufficient length of time to allow a portion of the 
contents to evaporate is the main cause of this 
condition. 

" (c) Small tgg: Any tgg that will detract from 
the appearance of normal eggs on account of its small 
size will come under this class, although it may 
be a new laid tgg. 

"(d) Dirty tgg: Fresh eggs which have been 
soiled with earth, droppings, or tgg contents, or 
badly stained by coming in contact with wet straw, 
hay, etc., are classed as seconds. 



156 MARKETING AND GRADING EGGS 

"(e) Watery egg: Those in which the inner 
membrane of the air cell is ruptured, allowing the 
air to escape into the contents of the egg and thereby 
giving a watery or frothy appearance. 

" (f) Presence of foreign matter in eggs : Small 
blood streaks or clots. This condition is found in 
many fresh laid eggs. Often eggs are laid which 
show small clots about the size of a pea. These are 
sometimes termed Miver' or 'meat' spots. 

"(g) Badly misshapen eggs: Eggs which are 
extremely long or very flat, or in which part of the 
shell's surface is raised in the form of a ring; in 
other instances a number of hard, wartlike growths 
appear on the outside of the shell. 

" Spots : Eggs in which bacteria or mold growth 
has developed locally and caused the formation of 
a lumpy adhesion on the inside of the shell. There 
are three well recognized classes of mold spots — 
namely: white, brown, and black. In cases where 
an infertile egg has been subjected to natural heat 
for a sufficient period of time, the yolk will often 
settle and become fixed to the membrane. This con- 
dition might be termed a 'plainspot.' 

"Blood rings: Eggs in which the embryo has 
developed to a sufficient extent so that it is quickly 
recognized when held before the candle. It has been 
found that it requires between twenty- four and 
thirty-six hours of incubation under a sitting hen 
to produce this condition. 



MARKETING AND GRADING EGGS 157 

" Rots : Eggs which are absolutely unfit for food. 
The different classes of rots may be defined as 
follows : 

" (a) Black rot: This is the easiest class of rots 
to recognize and, consequently the best known. 
When the tgg is held before the candle the contents 
have a blackish appearance, and in most cases the 
air cell is very prominent. The formation of hydro- 
gen-sulphide gas in the egg causes the contents to 
blacken and gives rise to the characteristic rotten 
egg smell, and sometimes causes the egg to explode. 

"(b) White rot: These eggs have a character- 
istic sour smell. The contents become watery, the 
yolk and white mixed, and the whole egg offensive 
to both the sight and the smell. It is also known 
as the 'mixed rot.' 

"(c) Spot rot: In this the foreign growth has 
not contaminated the entire egg, but has remained 
near the point of entrance. Such eggs are readily 
picked out with the candle, and when broken show 
lumpy particles adhering to the inside of the shell. 
These lumps are of various colors and appearances. 
It is probable that spot rots are caused as much by 
mold as bacteria, but for practical purposes the dfs- 
tinction is unnecessary. 

"To all intents and purposes the spot rot, as 
explained above, is practically the same as the 
brown and black spots described under the general 
head of 'spots.' The spot rot is also placed under 



158 MARKETING AND GRADING EGGS 

the general head of rots simply because some candlers 
will call it a spot, while others designate it as a 
spot rot. Pink and blood rots are names which are 
also applied to certain classes of rotten eggs, the pink 
rot deriving its name from the peculiar pinkish 
color of the contents when held before the candle. 
The same is true of the blood rot, which is bloody or 
red in appearance." 

If those producing eggs for market purposes will 
carefully study the foregoing and then grade their 
eggs before sending them to the market, better 
prices will be obtained and a reputation will be made 
which is bound to result beneficially to the producer. 



CHAPTER XXXIII 

FATTENING KILLING MARKETING 

There is still much education necessary along the 
line of poultry products. The majority of people 
think all market poultry is alike and, aside from the 
age of the fowl, there is no difference in the eating 
quality of such products placed on the market. 
This is due to the fact that they have never had an 
opportunity to judge the difference between a chicken 
raised on farm range and one which has been 
brought up in reasonably close confinement and pos- 
sibly fattened before being shipped to the market. 

The people in New England and the eastern states 
are better posted along these lines, because the poul- 
try raisers there have educated the public on the 
subject. Western poultry raisers wonder why these 
easterners get better prices than they do for their 
market poultry and eggs. The answer is, they 
furnish the quality, which entitles them to top-notch 
prices. In other words, quality fixes the prevailing 
prices. 

Poultry raised on unlimited range becomes muscu- 
lar. The greater the range the dryer and tougher the 
flesh, whereas the same kind of poultry raised in 
confinement and forced with easily digested food 
will have tender, fine grained flesh and good flavor. 

159 



l6o FATTENING— KILLING— MARKETING 

When a person once tastes these two kinds of poul- 
try meat the difference will be so pronounced that 
he will gladly pay the difference in price and will 
demand that poultry raised for his table must be 
raised on so-called scientific principles. 

In catering to a high class of trade for both 
poultry and eggs, a very important item is the man- 
ner of preparation for shipping to market. Appear- 
ance counts for a great deal and goes a long way 
towards satisfying a particular customer. 

One of the most important items in the marketing 
of dressed poultry is the killing and preparation of 
the fowl. Fowls that are not properly killed and 
dressed for the city market will not command the 
best prices. Careful attention should be paid to 
every detail. 

Always take the birds off the roosts at night. 
This will prevent the trouble of chasing them about 
the place. Put them into a comfortable coop or 
cage where they should be kept for about thirty- 
six hours before killing. Give them feed in the 
morning, one good meal, and then do not feed any- 
thing until killed, but see that they get plenty of 
fresh water. 

Hang the fowls by the feet at a convenient height, 
then lock the wings together to prevent flapping. 
Take the tips of the wings in the right hand and 
strike a hard blow on the head with a stick or 
cudgel. The fowl should then be grasped by the 



FATTENING— KILLING— MARKETING i6l 

comb or feathers on back of head. This should be 
done with left hand, while with the right hand you 
insert the blade of a sharp knife in the neck back 
of the ear lobe, running the blade through the 
neck. In withdrawing the blade give it a twist so 
as to sever the artery in the throat, which will cause 
the blood to flow freely. 

When this is done lose no time, but start in to 
pluck immediately. Pluck up the breast and up the 
side to tail, unlock the wings and strip them also, 
remove the feathers from the back, and then finish 
the job by plucking. If this work is done quickly 
the feathers will come out easily and there is then 
no danger of the skin being torn. 

If your market demands a drawn fowl, cut a slit 
about an inch long back of vent and parallel with 
it, insert index finger, and remove intestines. The 
tgg sac and lower end of the intestines may be 
removed by enlarging the slit to a half circle so that 
it joins the ends of the vent. Cut off the head, draw 
the skin back about half an inch, and cut off that 
much of the neck bone, then pull the skin forward 
and tie. 

If the fowl is to be used for home consumption, 
many prefer to remove the feathers by scalding. To 
do this properly is to take the fowl by the neck and 
legs, dip into hot water twice, one dip with breast 
down and one with back down, then hang the fowl 
up and pluck. After the feathers have been removed 



l62 FATTENING— KILLING— MARKETING 

and the fowl drawn, throw the carcass into boiling 
hot water for about ten seconds, then put it into ice 
cold water for about ten or fifteen minutes. 

In shipping to market, pack as neatly and cleanly 
as possible, and never pack for shipment until all 
the animal heat is gone. 

People who have not the time or inclination to 
dress and prepare their poultry correctly should sell 
them alive. Of course, live poultry does not demand 
quite as good a price, but saves the poultryman 
much work. 

In the fall of the year many poultry raisers have 
selected their next year's breeding stock, and are 
ready to sell the surplus for table use. If a little 
attention is paid to getting such stock in the best 
marketable condition, better prices and more profits 
can be made from this surplus. 

It does not necessarily require very much addi- 
tional expense to fatten poultry for market, 
providing, of course, the right method is used to 
bring this about. The extra labor also is not worth 
mentioning, and will be paid for tenfold in the addi- 
tional selling price added to each fowl. 

First of all, the birds should be taken off the range, 
or out of the exercising pens, about three weeks 
before they are to be sent to the market, and put into 
small coops or pens, where they are deprived of 
exercise. Next build a V shaped feeding trough, 
the same as the farmers use for hogs, only smaller. 



FATTENING— KILLING— MARKETING 163 

Into this place the fattening mash, three or four 
times daily. 

For the city man it is handier to use one of the 
many commercial mashes, to which should be added 
skim or butter milk, and to every ten pounds of 
meal mash add one-half pound of animal fat, such 
as lard, tallow, or suet. Melt the lard and stir into 
the batter. This batter should be mixed to the con- 
sistency of pancake batter. If the fowls show signs 
of getting tired of animal fat diet, the same amount 
of sugar may be substituted. Any kind of low grade 
sugar will answer the purpose, or even molasses may 
take the place of the former. Do not forget to put 
a little salt in the batter, and once or twice a week 
add a little ground charcoal. Green food of any 
kind should be avoided during the fattening pro- 
cess. When the first signs of a bird getting off its 
feed are noticed, such bird should be taken from 
the fattening pen and either sent to market or again 
put on the range until it recuperates. 



CHAPTER XXXIV 



LICE — MITES FLEAS 



There are three common pests which are liable to 
infest the poultryman's flock at any time — lice, mites, 
and fleas. Of the former there are at least a dozen 
species to be found on our domestic fowls, which 
includes hens, ducks, geese, turkeys, pigeons, guineas, 
peafowls, and pheasants. 

Poultry keepers who wish to attain any degree of 
success with their flocks must combat these pests the 
year around. Prevention is the sure way to keep 
them from doing any damage at all. 

Keep your birds free from lice is advice easily 
given, but not so easily carried out. Even fowls 
kept under the best conditions may at some time or 
another become infested with vermin. They may be 
transmitted from the neighbor's flocks or may be 
brought on the premises by sparrows or other birds 
of the air. It is therefore of the utmost importance 
that the poultry keeper be alert always and examine 
some of his birds occasionally so as to detect their 
first appearance if possible. 

Lice and mites will increase at an alarming pace 
and the least neglect in this direction may result in 
spreading these pests throughout the flock in such 

164 



LICE— MITES— FLEAS 165 

numbers as to make the work of extermination a 
most difficult task. On the other hand, if the 
poultryman is on the lookout for these parasites he 
will detect them at such time when the application 
of lice powder or other lice killers will rid the 
fowls of the trouble makers before they have a 
chance to get a good foothold. 

Lice live, sfeep, and eat among the feathers of the 
birds; they lay their eggs on the shaft of the feather, 
mostly near the vent, and the heat from the fowl's 
body does the incubating of these eggs. The only 
chanee a hen has in combating these pests is the 
process of a dust bath, either in fine road dust or 
ashes. The active fowl can destroy many of the lice, 
which breathe through the tubelike openings in their 
bodies by dusting, but insects which live on the blood 
or gnaw the skin of the fowl seldom are killed unless 
given the proper treatment by the poultry raiser. 

The "dust box'' is without a doubt one of the 
most valuable contrivances and no poultry house or 
ward should be without one. It is one of the neces- 
sities which can be supplied at little or no cost save 
the few minutes' time it takes to keep it clean and 
refilled. This box should be kept in a dry place, 
preferably in the scratching shed. Setting hens 
should also not be neglected in this respect; they 
need the dust bath as well as the laying hens and 
growing chicks. 

The chief preventive against the ravages of these 



l66 LICE— MITES— FLEAS 

pests of the poultry house is cleanliness. A house 
kept scrupulously clean is not an inviting place 
for them to harbor in; filth is what they thrive on 
and filth causes them to multiply rapidly. 

Either whitewash the house thoroughly each 
spring and fall or line it with tar paper, to be applied 
fresh each year. In whitewashing a poultry house 
every crack and crevice should be reached with the 
fluid, and the nesting boxes should come in for a 
liberal coating. 

Insects lurk in the cracks and crevices ; mites will 
house in these during the daytime and come out 
during the evening attacking the fowls on their 
roosts at night. A strong solution of one of the 
tar product disinfectants applied freely with a spray 
pump throughout the house and nesting boxes will 
assist greatly in the work of prevention. There are 
also some good lice paints upon the market which 
may be used effectively on the roosts, nesting boxes, 
and around the dropping boards. 

A liberal use of some reliable lice powder will, if 
properly applied, rid a flock of these pests. One 
application will not do it, it must be repeated a few 
times at least to have the desired effect. The first 
application may kill all lice on the fowls, but the 
eggs, which are not harmed by the lice powder, 
will hatch and a new crop of lice will make their 
appearance. 

Thus it will be seen that it is absolutely necessary 



LICE— MITES— FLEAS 167 

to repeat operations in this direction several times 
before any one can be certain the lice have been 
completely exterminated. 

The work must also be done thoroughly, the 
powder must be well dusted into the feathers and 
every part of the bird's body must be reached. Do 
not hesitate about using lots of lice powder in the 
nesting boxes ; sprinkle it on the nesting material, it 
will not affect the hen eggs in the least. 

So-called "lice killing nest eggs" or moth balls 
are apt to transmit their disagreeable odor to th^ 
eggs, which may be tasted when they are prepared 
for the breakfast table. Tobacco stems placed in the 
bottom of the nesting boxes and covered with clean 
straw have been found good, and are to be had at 
a reasonable price from any cigar factory. 

Never put a newly purchased fowl in your hen 
house to mingle with your flock until you have 
examined it carefully, and as an extra precaution 
dust it well with lice powder. By placing a fine wire 
mesh on your windows you lessen the danger of 
sparrows carrying these insects into the hen house. 

There is more danger of lice during warm weather 
than at any other time, hence in summer use every 
precaution to keep these pests from invading your 
flock. 

The so called "Red Mite," although one of the 
smallest insect which infests poultry, is, without a 
doubt, the most troublesome. Notwithstanding the 



l68 LICE— MITES— FLEAS 

fact that this parasite is called the red mite, it is 
only red when it is filled with blood — at other times 
it is gray with black spots. 

These mites at times become very serious as they 
multiply with wonderful rapidity, and especially 
is this true during the summer months. When a 
poultry house once becomes infested with these pests 
it demands vigorous action— half-way measures will 
not do, it means a fight, and a hard one. 

The red mite works at night; it crawls forth 
from its hiding place and attacks the fowls while 
they are at roost. Hundreds of these may prey 
upon a single hen, fill themselves with blood, and 
then crawl back to their hiding places contented 
until the next night. During the day these parasites 
lie dormant in the cracks and crevices about the 
hen house, hence they are not so easily detected by 
the novice. 

I have known cases where setting hens died while 
sitting upon the nest, traceable to no other cause 
than red mites, which have been assisted in their 
propagation by filth, which has been allowed to 
accumulate in the nesting boxes and the floor of the 
hen houses. Dark, dirty and damp houses are 
especially adapted for the breeding of these insects 
and offer favorable conditions for their rapid 
multiplication. 

By paying a visit to the hen house at night, and 
being equipped with a good light, these pests may 



LICE— MITES— FLEAS 169 

be detected. If any are found, get busy, clean out 
every part of the house, overhaul the nesting boxes, 
burn up the nesting material, take down the roosts 
and paint them with lice paint, or wash them off with 
a strong solution of disinfectant. Those having no 
lice paint or disinfectant at hand may prepare a 
good substitute as follows: One pint of crude 
carbolic acid added to one gallon of kerosene. Do 
not be afraid to apply freely with a brush or spray 
pump; get either of these solutions into every crack 
and crevice, and soak the wood thoroughly. White- 
wash the walls and ceiling with a mixture of one 
pint of crude carbolic acid to every five gallons of 
the whitewash, and apply freely and thoroughly, 
reaching every part of the interior. If your house 
has a wood floor disinfect it thoroughly, or scatter 
some air-slacked lime over it and sweep it well into 
the cracks. Care should be taken to have the lime 
well air-slacked, otherwise the fowls may pick up 
the larger particles of lime, a dangerous article for 
them to get into their crops. 

Another simple remedy to rid the hen house of 
mites, and one which is quite frequently used, is 
fumigation with a sulphur candle, or powdered 
sulphur mixed with shavings, placed into an iron 
vessel, and then ignited. Be sure to lock every fowl 
out of the house, and close the l^uilding, doors, win- 
dows, ventilators and everything, light the candle or 
powdered sulphur and make a quick retreat. The 



170 LICE— MITES— FLEAS 

fumes are deadly to all mites, the common hen lice 
and any other kind of vermin about the premises. 
After the sulphur is burnt out, ventilate thoroughly 
before permitting the birds to re-enter. 

There are other remedies used for ridding a hen 
house of mites, but I believe the two foregoing are 
the simplest and least expensive; either one, if 
properly done, will do the work effectively. Can- 
didly, I believe there is no reasonable excuse for 
any modern poultry keeper to be troubled with mites. 
Keep the houses clean, well sprayed with disinfec- 
tants, or whitewash, paint the roosts every week 
with lice paint or the kerosene-carbolic mixture men- 
tioned above, change the nesting material often, and 
dust it well with insect powder. Always keep in 
mind that a house kept in sanitary condition is no 
inviting place for mites or any other parasites. 



CHAPTER XXXV 

CAUSES OF DISEASE 

Disease has caused more discouragement in the 
poultry business than any one thing. Much of the 
pleasure of raising good poultry is lost when the 
breeder sees one bird after another fall a victim to 
disease. Disease has dealt the death knell to many 
ambitions and has been the cause of the retirement 
of many poultry raisers with otherwise bright futures 
before them. 

Disease does not come without a cause and in 
nine cases out of ten this cause is neglect or care- 
lessness. True, we sometimes find a sick bird in 
the best regulated flocks, where everything is done to 
keep the poultry in the best possible condition and 
where the buildings are constructed on the most up 
to date, scientific plans. But these cases are excep- 
tional and the disease, in these cases, never gets 
much headway. 

The trouble with most inexperienced poultry 
raisers is their inability to detect disease in its earliest 
stage, and when they do detect it the malady has a 
good hold upon the specimen affected ; or perhaps it 
is of a contagious nature, which means the infection 
of the pen mates. If amateurs would study their 
birds more closely and carefully watch their daily 

171 



172 CAUSES OF DISEASE 

actions there would be less trouble along these lines. 

There are many things which bring about diseases. 
Among them are poor ventilation, direct drafts, over- 
crowding, irregular feeding, dirty houses, con- 
taminated runs, filthy drinking water, damp quarters, 
and lack of exercise. Any one of these may cause 
the poultry man lots of trouble, and any one of them 
can be avoided if the proper interest is displayed in 
the raising of chickens. Some of these causes for 
disease must be considered when the first start is 
made. Take, for instance, the construction of the 
hen houses. In laying out the poultry plant hygienic 
construction should be carefully considered in all of 
the plans. Interior fixtures such as nesting boxes, 
roosts, etc., should be removable so that the houses 
can be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected. The 
drinking fountains and feed hoppers should be of 
such a pattern as will permit handy cleaning by the 
operator. To be brief, much of the prevention 
of disease lies in the kind of houses and fixtures 
that are used. 

A sick hen will not lay, even though her ailment is 
not severe. Nor will she lay immediately after 
recovering, and hens that have had a severe case of 
canker or roup are not fit for the breeding pen. They 
should be killed and burned. In mild cases of the 
latter disease it is advisable to doctor them, but 
unless the case is mild they are not worth the 
trouble. 



CAUSES OF DISEASE 173 

With the coming of the fall there will be many 
cases of cold, which if not taken in hand promptly 
will go into roup. I would suggest that poultry 
raisers have a solution of permanganate of potash 
on hand for such emergencies. This solution is 
made by dissolving one ounce of permanganate of 
potash in three pints of water. When a bird shows 
signs of having a cold, dip the bird's head into this 
solution. Repeat this operation every day until the 
bird is cured. 



CHAPTER XXXVI 

BOWEL TROUBLE IN CHICKS 

The most common disease among chicks is bowel 
trouble. Thousands of small chicks succumb yearly 
from one form of this disease called "white 
diarrhoea." Its appearance in a flock will cause 
alarm to the experienced poultry raiser for he 
knows how rapidly it will spread, and the havoc it is 
liable to bring about. 

Some poultrymen claim that this disease is more 
prevalent among incubator hatched and brooder 
raised chicks. Close investigation has proven the 
fallacy of such an assertion. Hen hatched and reared 
chicks are just as liable to this disease. Of course 
an improperly heated and ventilated brooder has 
much to do in bringing on this disease, which 
accounts, no doubt, for some poultrymen making 
this claim. 

Certain weather conditions make the chicks more 
susceptible to bowel trouble, damp, gloomy days, 
or exceptionally hot days in summer are more 
favorable for its appearance. Improper protection 
from dampness, insufficient heat, or exposure to 
hot sun rays without the proper arnount of shade 

174 



BOWEL TROUBLE IN CHICKS 



175 



during very hot days bring about conditions which 
tend toward breeding this disease, and assist 
materially in spreading it more rapidly. 

Bowel trouble in most cases is nothing more or 
less than acute intestinal indigestion caused by the 
inability of the intestinal organ to properly digest 
the foods, and the thus indigested food acting as an 
irritant results in diarrhoea. 

Impure drinking water is one of the causes of this 
disease. Chicks must have clean, pure water; it 
is just as important to them as it is to human 
beings. Drinking fountains which cannot be easily 
cleaned and scoured should never be used at any 
time. Vessels into which chicks can step should 
also be avoided. During warm weather fresh water 
should be supplied several times during the day, 
and such water should be protected from exposure 
to the sun, and the scratchings of the litter. 

Chilling is one of the common causes for bowel 
trouble. During cold weather chicks require more 
heat than in warmer weather. When the outside 
temperature is below the 50 degree mark there is 
little danger of overheating the brooder chicks, and 
the flock will not be much affected at a tempera- 
ture even as high as 112 to 115 degrees, which is 
9 and 12 degrees higher than that of an incubator 
during its operation. But on the other hand, if 
the outside temperature is above the 70 mark, long 
exposure to a temperature of over 100 degrees is 



176 BOWEL TROUBLE IN CHICKS 

very apt to effect the flock quite seriously, and also 
cause bowel trouble. Chicks must be kept comfort- 
ably warm, and in order to carry this out 
successfully the hover heat must be regulated in 
keeping with the outdoor weather conditions. 

Next to chilling, indiscretions in feeding or care- 
less feeding are the most prolific causes of this 
disease among the baby chicks. Chicks must have 
a variety of foods, and sufficient of each so that 
they can properly balance their rations. Chicks fed 
on one grain food, or kept on short rations, and 
thus starved into eating something not good for 
them at that particular time are easy 'preys to 
bowel trouble. Good, clean commercial chick food, 
put up by a reliable firm, is a safe food for the 
chicks. The so-called chick feed which is nothing 
more or less than fine waste fanned from grains 
in the mills is, as a rule, a very poor feed, to say the 
least, and the most expensive in the end, for one 
pays for a lot of chaff and other material which the 
chicks will not eat. 

Chicks in confinement cannot pick up the 
vegetable matter which they could obtain if given 
free range. It is therefore of the utmost impor- 
tance that raw vegetable food be supplied in 
sufficient quantities. During the early part of the 
season when grasses, etc., are scarce, raw potatoes 
or beets are a most satisfactory vegetable food, and 
should be fed chopped up fine once a day. A little 



BOWEL TROUBLE IN CHICKS 177 

fresh lettuce or tender sprouted oats is very good 
and much reHshed. 

Chicks, like human beings, enjoy a boiled dinner 
for a change, and for this purpose boiled cracked 
rice, or wheat with a little salt seasoning cannot 
be surpassed. In every case these grains should 
be boiled almost dry and fed when cool, but should 
not be given as a regular diet. 

When the first symptoms of bowel trouble are 
noticed in the flock take some scalded sweet milk 
into which mix a little grated nutmeg, and give 
them all they want of this to drink in place of 
water. Feed them on boiled rice, sprinkled with 
fine bone meal, until the symptoms have disap- 
peared. If this treatment does not check the disease 
it is advisable to resort to some reliable diarrhoea 
remedy, separate the sick from the healthy, and 
thoroughly disinfect the brooder and run. 

After all, it is easier to prevent the disease, by 
following the foregoing suggestions, than it is to 
cure it. 



CHAPTER XXXVII 



LEG-WEAKNESS 



Leg- WEAKNESS in a flock of half -grown ehicks is 
due to several causes. It generally makes its appear- 
ance in flocks ranging from three to six months of 
age, and the cockerels are mare apt to be affected 
than the pullets. 

One of the causes is the over-feeding of fat- 
producing foods. The weight of the body being 
increased to such an extent that the legs are unable 
to properly support the extra weight thus created. 
Poultry raisers bent on saving time to bring their 
flocks up to broiler weight often overdo the forc- 
ing process to such a degree as to cause such 
disease. 

The larger the variety the greater the tendency 
for leg-weakness through feeding. The smaller 
breeds being more active are not inclined to take 
on flesh as rapidly, they are too busy running about 
and scratching, provided, of course, the oppor- 
tunity to do so is given them. For instance, the 
percentage of leg-weakness cases in Leghorns is 
very small, and when a case makes its appearance 
it is generally attributed to other causes than the 
over- fattened condition of the body. Even Leg- 
horn chicks in close confinement, but given plenty 

178 



LEG-WEAKNESS 179 

of scratching material, are seldom affected with this 
malady. If the stock from which the chicks have 
been bred is vigorous, Leghorn chicks will keep 
active under almost any conditions. It is a natural 
born instinct for them to keep scratching; they 
are bound to keep busy some way or another from 
morning until evening. What is true of the Leg- 
horns in this respect is also true of the other 
smaller breeds. 

Chicks of the larger breeds should be given more 
of an opportunity for exercise. The runway 
should be larger, the feeding should be done more 
carefully, and every opportunity offered them to 
keep them busy. Feed the grain feeds in litter, or 
scatter it amongst the loose earth so that they are 
bound to keep digging for it. Where the chicks 
are kept in rather close quarters, it is advisable to 
dig up the soil, scatter the grains over this freshly 
dug up soil and then run a rake over it. This is 
bound to cause activity, in other words, the chicks 
must work for every particle of grain they get. 
Chicks put on range, on the colony house plan will, 
as a rule, get plenty of exercise running around 
hunting bugs and grasses, but the city man has not 
the space to afford his growing stock such an oppor- 
tunity to forage for themselves, hence he must, to 
a certain extent resort to the artificial. 

Another cause for leg- weakness is the feeding of 
too little bone and muscle forming foods. Chicks 



l8o LEG-WEAKNESS 

which are deprived of getting plenty of insects must 
be given animal matter. Raw meat, ground up, fed 
a few times every week is very beneficial to them. 
Beef scraps, of good quality, free from a musty 
smell, and containing a good percentage of granu- 
lated bone should be fed to the chicks in a hopper 
provided for that purpose. I would not advise mix- 
ing the beef scraps in the ground food as it has a 
tendency to make it mouldy, the best method is to 
feed it in a hopper by itself. Granulated bone may 
also be purchased separately from the beef scraps, 
and that can be mixed with the grit and charcoal. 
Skimmed milk is also very good for chicks, and 
helps to build them up. Wet mashes should be 
avoided. 

Chicks kept on board floors too long, and not 
given soil to run on are liable to become afflicted 
with leg-weakness. When chicks reach the age of 
three weeks they should be given access to an out- 
door run, they need lots of fresh air and fresh 
earth to scratch in. During the early spring when 
weather conditions are such that this is impossible, 
it is advisable to either spread a layer of soil on the 
board floor, or provide a large shallow box filled 
with soil. 

The observant poultry raiser will usually notice 
the first symptoms of leg-weakness, the chick will 
show signs of unsteadiness in walking, and its leg 
muscles will appear working at a disadvantage. 



LEG-WEAKNESS l8l 

Within a few days the chick will hesitate about 
walking very much, and resume a sitting position 
while feeding. During the first few days this dis- 
ease does not affect the appetite, nor does it affect 
the general appearance of the bird, it simply ap- 
pears weak on its legs, but as time goes on it be- 
comes weaker and, not being able to get about, it 
is trampled on and pecked by its mates, and soon 
becomes thin and louse ridden. 

Do not neglect to take the chick in hand when the 
first symptoms of this disease appear. If the bird 
comes from vigorous stock, it is not a difficult task 
to put it on its feet again. Find the cause and 
correct that first of all, give one-half teaspoonful 
of tincture of nux vomica to every quart of water, 
and rub the legs with tincture of arnica. Do not 
feed any corn — use wheat, steel-cut oats and bran 
until the hens are in the best condition, and show no 
further signs of leg-weakness. 



CHAPTER XXXVIII 

EGG-BOUND 

Egg-bound is a condition of the egg passage af- 
fecting more frequently hens of the heavier breeds. 
Active fowls, such as Leghorns, Minorcas, Cam- 
pines, Hamburgs, Anconas, and others of the smaller 
breeds are seldom troubled with this ailment. The 
cause is attributed in most cases to an overfat con- 
dition, which produces a pressure upon the egg 
passage, resulting in the difficult performing of its 
proper function. Sluggish fowls, those which have 
been closely confined without being given the nec- 
essary artificial exercise, are common prey to this 
disease. 

Sometimes the muscular tissue is replaced by 
streaks of fat, which weaken the muscles of the 
egg passage and, by straining, the weak walls give 
way, permitting the egg or its contents to pass 
into the abdominal cavity. This condition produces 
inflammation, followed by peritonitis. 

Occasionally the poultry raiser will find a dead 
hen on the nest, which has died without an appar- 
ent cause, but upon close investigation it will be 
found that there was an egg-bound condition which 
resulted in a weakening condition of the heart. The 
fatty condition of the bird has affected the muscles 

182 



EGG-BOUND 183 

of the heart, and the extra strain was too severe 
upon these muscles. 

Overfat hens are apt to lay double yolk eggs, 
which adds to strain and difficulty in passage. At 
times eggs may get broken while passing through 
the oviduct and will obstruct the passage of the other 
eggs. Pullets may become egg-bound for a few days 
in endeavoring to pass their first eggs, but such 
cases generally will adjust themselves within a few 
days and need no treatment. 

An egg-bound condition may result in inflamma- 
tion of the egg passage, which is quite a serious 
disease. The hen thus affected has a constant de- 
sire to strain, and this strain is at times so violent 
as to cause the breaking of a blood vessel and re- 
sult in the bird's sudden death. 

If the poultryman would watch his flock closely 
there is little danger of inflammation of the €:gg 
passage. When a hen is detected moving about 
slowly, going often in the nest without dropping 
an egg, and the tail feathers are seen to be lowered, 
take her in hand, watch the movements of the mus- 
cles at the vent, and you will notice her efforts to 
eject an egg. Oil your finger and pass it into the 
passage; you will readily detect the muscular move- 
ments and in most cases touch the egg. 

One of the simple treatments which has proven 
effective is to hold the hen with her vent over a 
steaming dish of boiling water. Should this not 



l84 EGG-BOUND 

be effective enough to relax the parts for the deHv- 
ery of the egg, inject a small quantity of olive or 
sweet oil. While the hen is undergoing this treat- 
ment, feed her on soft, unstimulating foods, and 
give her a half teaspoon ful of linseed oil every few 
hours. After the egg has been removed should 
there be any signs of inflammation, syringe the pas- 
sage with a weak solution of carbolic acid. Keep 
the fowl in a quiet place, away from the rest of the 
flock. 

An over fatty condition is also the cause for the 
laying of soft shelled eggs. Sometimes it is caused 
by the overstimulation of the tgg organs, brought 
about by the overfeeding of too much spice, which 
is apt to cause irritation of the egg passage. 

Closely confined fowls not supplied with a va- 
riety of food are more liable to lay soft shelled eggs 
than those having plenty of range or supplied with 
exercise in an artificial way and fed a variety of 
grains in a well-balanced ration. Oyster shells, grit, 
and plenty of green foods will assist greatly in 
preventing such conditions of the egg organs. 

If your hens are too fat provide a diet low in 
fat-producing elements, make the birds work for 
what they get, and put one teaspoon ful of sulphate 
of magnesia to every pint of drinking water twice 
a week for a few weeks. 

Should the hens still persist in laying soft shelled 
eggs add five drops of fluid extract of ergot to 



EGG-BOUND 185 

each quart of drinking water every other day for a 
period of one week. Do not have any other water 
around while giving them the mixture, otherwise 
the fowls will not touch it. 



CHAPTER XXXIX 

FROST-BITE 

Exposure to low temperature is the direct cause for 
frost-bites, or commonly called frozen comb, and 
the high single-combed varieties of poultry are more 
easily affected than the smaller and rose, or peacomb, 
varieties. The single-comb Leghorn and all similar 
varieties must for this reason have special attention 
during severe cold weather or they are bound to be 
victims to this ailment. Under- feeding increases the 
danger materially, and fowls of low vitality are more 
subject to affection. 

Fowls which have not been too closely housed 
from the beginning of the colder weather, and which 
are given an enclosed, curtain-front roosting com- 
partment, will in most cases withstand the severest 
winter nights without having their combs affected. 
Of course, it must be understood that the house is 
well constructed, free from drafts and dampness. 

A common mistake is building the roosts too close 
to the glass windows. Glass draws frost, and for 
this reason it is not advisable to have too much glass 
in a roosting house. All glass front poultry houses 
are very warm during the day time when the sun 
beats into them, but they are also exceptionally cold 

i86 



FROST-BITE 187 

at night; in other words, the temperature of the 
house goes from one extreme to the other. Such a 
condition is bound to produce many cases of frost- 
bite. 

Fowls may also have their combs frost-bitten dur- 
ing the day time, provided they are permitted to run 
in unprotected runs during stormy, zero weather. 
It is therefore advisable to keep the birds in the 
houses and scratching sheds during the severest days. 
Poorly constructed fountains are often the cause of 
frost-bitten wattles, the latter becoming wet and 
then exposed to the cold winds, which is liable to 
result in a pair of frozen wattles. 

When a comb is frost-bitten, it turns purple, and 
in severe cases black; in the latter condition it is 
almost impossible to keep the affected part from fall- 
ing off. As soon as the first symptoms of a frozen 
comb are apparent, no time should be lost. The bird 
must be taken in hand promptly; apply some snow 
to the affected parts, or, if this is not at hand, some 
cold water will serve. Use freely until the frost is 
thawed out and the circulation is restored; after 
which apply, mornings and evenings, a mixture of 
six parts vaseline or lard, two parts glycerine and 
one part turpentine. 

A bird affected with frost-bite should not be imme- 
diately put into a warm room or placed where the 
sun will reach it ; the main point is to start the circu- 
lation gradually. 



CHAPTER XL 

RHEUMATISM 

This disease in most cases affects the legs, although 
it may affect any part of the body. The causes of 
this ailment are exposure to dampness and cold, the 
feeding of too much animal matter and not enough 
vegetable matter; or it may have come down from 
ancestors with rheumatic tendencies. It affects both 
the old fowls and the chicks, the latter at brooderage. 

The symptoms are a contraction of the muscles of 
the legs, which draws up the toes and flexes the 
shanks on the knees, and whenever the bird tries to 
straighten itself, it seems to have a severe pain. In- 
flammation and pain in the muscles and joints causes 
the bird to sit down most of the time, and in most 
cases the joint^ will be swollen. 

Remove the ailing fowls to dry, sunny quarters, 
with plenty of straw or other dry litter, and care 
should be taken to keep this litter dry by protecting 
the drinking fountains. Give them as much vege- 
table matter as possible, and feed sparingly on animal 
matter. Rub the swollen joints and muscles with 
witch-hazel, and give them 15 grains of iodide of 
potassium to every quart of drinking water. 

188 



RHEUMATISM 189 

Brooders so constructed as to supply the heat from 
the bottom are very apt to cause rheumatism in the 
chicks; keeping chicks in damp basements, or per- 
mitting them to run on cold cement floors, is another 
cause. Chicks are very liable to succumb to this dis- 
ease, whereas there is less danger of losing the grown 
fowls unless the disease should go to the heart. 



CHAPTER XLI 



ROUP 



Roup has caused more havoc in poultry keeping than 
any one disease. Thousands of fowls succumb annu- 
ally from its ravages, and entire flocks are wiped out 
or made useless for future breeding purposes. It is 
very contagious, and one infected bird may spread 
the disease throughout the flock in a very short time. 

Many inexperienced poultry keepers mistake a 
severe cold for roup. A neglected cold may develop 
into a case of roup ; hence, a fowl suffering from a 
cold, be it ever so slight, should not be passed by 
lightly, but should be taken in hand and treated. 
This malignant disease is more prevalent during the 
fall and winter months, especially when the weather 
is cold and damp. Summer cases are not so common 
unless the hens are kept under insanitary conditions. 
Filthy, damp quarters, too close housing, and unclean 
drinking vessels are breeders of this disease. Roup 
may also be inherited from parent stock which has 
been affected with it, and not properly cured. A run- 
down flock with low vitality is an easy prey to its 
ravages. 

The common symptoms of roup are a discharge of 
the nostrils, which thickens as the disease progresses ; 

190 



ROUP 191 

watery eye or eyes, which gradually swell and later 
close entirely; the head, in advanced stages, will 
become swollen, and the bird has difficulty in breath- 
ing. I have seen specimens completely blind with 
this disease, and in such condition were unable to 
partake of food. The last stages of this disease are 
often accompanied with diarrhoea, which results in 
quick death. 

A roupy bird must be treated in its early stages in 
order to effect a complete cure and one that will not 
show its after-effects. Severe and advanced cases 
have been cured ; but personally, I would not care to 
breed from such birds, even though the fowls them- 
selves, from all outer appearances, seem perfectly 
healthy. The trouble with this disease is that it may 
seem entirely cured, but in reality is dormant, only to 
break out again when least expected. 

Roup should not be trifled with ; it must be vigor- 
ously treated; no half measures will do. It must 
be stamped out, and stamped out completely. Do 
not let any one make you believe that roup is easily 
cured, and that it is nothing more than a severe cold, 
which can be speedily eradicated by local external 
application on the infected parts. Such is not the 
case ; to obtain the desired result — a permanent cure 
— requires both internal and external treatment. 

In the treatment of roup, the first step to take is 
precaution. Remove all infected fowls from those 
showing no symptoms. Thoroughly disinfect the 



192 ROUP 

houses and pens from which such birds have been 
taken; boil out the drinking vessels; clean and dis- 
infect the feed hoppers and other utensils used by the 
diseased specimens. Put some permanganate of 
potassium in the drinking water — just enough to turn 
the water a light red color. Watch the flock closely ; 
look over each bird daily for new victims, and go 
into the hen house at night to listen to their breathing. 

There are many successful treatments for roup, 
but I will only give two simple remedies which I 
have found will cure severe cases. 

Prepare a solution of one part peroxide of hydro- 
gen to five parts of water, with which bathe the head 
and eyes twice or three times daily. Take a medicine 
dropper and pour some of this solution up the nos- 
trils. It may be necessary to clean off the hard, putrid 
matter in nostrils before it can be injected. Give the 
bird nothing to drink but the potassium water men- 
tioned before, until cured, after which some reliable 
tonic will be found very beneficial. 

Another simple remedy is to float some common 
kerosene oil on the top of a pail of water and dip 
the bird's entire head in this solution for a few sec- 
onds twice daily. I would also advise the potassium 
drinking water with this treatment. 

Another form of this disease is called diphtheritic 
roup, which is very contagious and difficult to cure. 
It affects the mucous membrane of the nasal passage, 
throat, mouth and eyes. Yellow patches will form 



ROUP 193 

on the affected parts, which give forth a foul odor. 
These patches grow rapidly in size, often filling the 
mouth and throat so as to cause suffocation. 

There is only one remedy to suggest for this dis- 
ease, and that is the hatchet, as birds thus infected 
will never be fit for breeders, nor will the hens ever 
amount to much as layers. 

Diphtheritic roup may be detected by its very 
offensive odor. It is claimed that this form of 
roup may be transmitted to the party handling such 
birds. This is another reason why all birds thus 
affected should be killed and not treated. 



CHAPTER XLII 

LIMBERNECK 

LiMBERNECK is a partial paralysis of the neck 
maiscles, the bird losing all control of the neck 
muscles. A fowl thus affected may be able to lift 
its neck at times, but generally the crown of the head 
rests on the ground between its legs most of the time. 
Intestinal irritations are, in most cases, the direct 
causes of this disease, and frequently it is accom- 
panied by acute indigestion, intestinal parasites, at- 
tacks of colic or crop inflammation. The eating of 
putrid meat or maggots are common causes, ana 
sometimes feeding on one grain or a sudden fright 
may bring on this disease. Fowls running upon old 
contaminated ground which has not been spaded or 
properly renovated may also contract the disease. 
Chicks and fowls of all ages are subject to this dis- 
ease, and no particular part of the country is exempt. 
A very successful treatment for this disease is to 
give an adult fowl a mixture of one teaspoon ful each 
of turpentine and sweet oil, and chicks three to 
twelve drops of each, according to the age of the 
victim. In about a half hour this should be followed 
by some warm milk, to which has been added a lib- 
eral sprinkling of black pepper. This should be 

TO J. 



LIMBERNECK 195 

repeated at intervals of every two hours, a half tea- 
spoonful for chicks and a tablespoon ful for adult 
fowls. As soon as the patient has sufficiently recov- 
ered, it should be put upon a boiled rice diet, followed 
by raw vegetable feeding, a little grain and beef 
scraps. 

Where this disease is caused from an epileptic or 
brain trouble, the foregoing treatment will not effect 
a cure, and in such cases it is advisable to kill the 
bird. 



CHAPTER XLIII 



GAPES 



Gapes is a very common and troublesome disease 
amongst both chicks and fowls. It is a parasitic dis- 
ease, and has the appearance of one worm, reddish 
in color, but upon a closer examination it will be 
found to be two worms, male and female, linked 
together. These worms fasten to the lining of the 
windpipe, and in that position suck the blood from 
the victim. It seems to be more dangerous to chicks 
from one to six weeks old. Death generally results 
from loss of blood and debility, or a large number of 
worms may cause suffocation. 

The disease spreads easily, because there are sev- 
eral thousand eggs in the female worm, which are 
not laid but which escape by the bursting of the 
female's body. At times these develop into worms 
in the bird's windpipe, but are more often coughed 
up and thus picked up by other birds through the 
food, water, or the ground. 

The presence of gapes is noted by frequent gaping, 
coughing, sneezing and whistling, and weakening, 
dumpish condition of the chick or fowl. Badly 
affected birds cough as though suffocating, shake 
their heads frequently, and often stand with wings 
drooping, eyes closed, and mouth open. 

196 



GAPES 197 

When this disease is discovered, stringent meas- 
ures must be adopted to prevent contagion of the 
entire flock. Where chicks or fowls are kept in runs, 
these runs must be thoroughly gone over with a 
strong disinfectant or air-slaked lime, after which 
they should be spaded over. Where the birds have 
a large range, such a measure of prevention is not 
practical, or in most cases impossible ; but the houses, 
coops or brooders, as the case may be, and the drink- 
ing vessels and feeding troughs, must be thoroughly 
disinfected. Remove all the sick birds from the well 
ones, and put a small piece of copperas in the drink- 
ing water as a preventive. 

The treatment most commonly and most success- 
fully used is extraction. This operation requires 
some patience on the part of the operator, but it is 
simple, and a little practice will make a skillful 
operator out of the least experienced poultry raiser. 

Either purchase a wire gapeworm extractor from 
a dealer in poultry supplies, or make your own ex- 
tractor by looping a horsehair. Mix a solution of 
good disinfectant, into which the extracted should be 
dipped before and after using. 

Take the bird firmly in the left hand, head placed 
firmly between the fore-finger and thumb, its mouth 
open, and its neck stretched out straight from the 
body. Dip the extractor in the disinfectant solu- 
tion, then insert it gently into the windpipe and with- 
draw it with a slight twist. Most of the worms will 



iqS gapes 

be extracted, and any remaining will most likely be 
killed by the disinfecting solution. Burn the worms 
extracted, so as not to be a source of danger to other 
fowls. Care should be taken not to permit too much 
of the solution on the extractor, or some of it may 
drop into the windpipe and strangle the bird. 

Some poultrymen use the lime treatment. The 
birds are placed into a box, the top of which is cov- 
ered with burlap; through this burlap top the air- 
slaked lime is slowly sifted throughout the chamber. 
The air becomes full of lime dust, which causes the 
birds to cough up the worms. Fresh air must be 
admitted to the box, and too much lime must not be 
used, or it may inflame the mucous membrane of the 
bird's air passage. 

Personally, I prefer the use of the extractor. 



CHAPTER XLIV ' 

CHOLERA 

Cholera is a most contagious and generally a fatal 
disease. It is not so common amongst poultry as 
many are led to believe. Too often severe cases of 
diarrhoea are mistaken for cholera. This disease 
attacks both old and young, and its progress is very 
rapid. It is without a doubt the most dangerous ail- 
ment to which poultry is subject, and when it makes 
its appearance, it requires prompt action and meas- 
ures to counteract its rapid infection of the entire 
flock. 

The symptoms of cholera are sleepiness, ruffled 
feathers, wings drooped, loss of appetite, an unusual 
thirst, over-drinking of water, high fever, legs dry 
and hot, pale comb, bloodless wattles and face, dull 
eyes, loss of strength and flesh, yellowish-green 
droppings, which in advanced stages turn to a grass- 
green color; feathers about the vent become soiled, 
and before the bird finally dies, it is commonly 
attacked with convulsions. 

A treatment is almost useless, as the disease's 
progress is so rapid, and, therefore, as a safety meas- 
ure for the rest of the flock not showing any symp- 
toms, it is advisable to kill and burn all infected 

199 



200 CHOLERA 

Specimens promptly. It is also a good policy to estab- 
lish a pest house, away from the other poultry houses, 
for those birds which are inclined to be just a little 
dumpish, and keep them under quarantine until the 
danger period for showing direct symptoms has been 
overcome. Give these suspects one-tenth-grain tab- 
lets of corrosive sublimate to every quart of water. 
As a diet, give them stale bread soaked in boiled 
milk and well seasoned with pepper. 

Where the flock and houses have been exposed to 
infected birds, hygienic and sanitary measures must 
be promptly resorted to. Lose no time in burning 
up all the litter in the houses and yards ; sprinkle air- 
slaked lime throughout the houses, and disinfect the 
roosts, nest boxes, drinking fountains, food utensils, 
the runs, etc. 

Another remedy quite frequently used for both 
cholera and diarrhoea is to mix one teaspoonful of 
spirits of camphor with sugar and add to each quart 
of drinking water. 



CHAPTER XLV 

SCALY LEGS 

Scaly legs are caused by the irritation of a para- 
site, which makes its way under the scales of the 
shanks and toes. It may be transmitted from one 
fowl to another, from an infected house, or from the 
roosts. 

It is very easily cured by mixing kerosene and lard 
and applying this thoroughly twice each day. Sul- 
phur and lard is also very good. Rub this well into 
the rough parts, mornings and evenings, for at least 
a week. 

I would also advise keeping the birds under treat- 
ment on straw, away from dirt and filth, until cured. 
Should a good many in the flock be infected, give 
every bird a few treatments with either one of the 
above mentioned mixtures. By following these sug- 
gestions, you will eliminate the new cases which are 
liable to break out. 



201 



CHAPTER XL VI 



CROP BOUND 



Crop Bound is caused by the swelling of grain, or 
by shavings, long pieces of hay or grass obstructing 
the outlet and also by foods forming a hard mass in 
the crop. Confined fowls which are deprived of 
the necessary vegetable diet often eat the litter, 
resulting in this condition. Sometimes the fowls 
will eat a quantity of green leaves and some of these 
become packed in such a manner that the passage 
of the food is made impossible. The absence of 
grit and oyster shells tend towards bringing on this 
disease. 

In most cases an operation becomes necessary, 
but I would advise trying the following treatment 
first: Secure a small rubber tube not thicker than 
a lead pencil, to which should be fastened a glass 
or tin funnel. Moisten the tube in warm water 
and insert same into the mouth and down the throat 
into the crop. Avoid getting it into the windpipe, 
or a strangled fowl will be the result. Slowly pour 
a quantity of warm water, not too hot, into the 
funnel, and keep busy working the crop with the 
finger so as to loosen up the contents of the crop 
until it is soft. Next hold the bird head down- 
ward and keep on working the crop until the mass 

202 



CROP BOUND 203 

is worked out. After this treatment give the bird 
warm water to drink, feed soft and easily digested 
foods for a few days and add a reliable tonic to the 
drinking water. 

If the bird does not respond to this treatment an 
operation on the crop Is necessary. To do this 
properly it will be necessary to have some assistance. 
One should hold the bird while the other gently 
plucks the feathers from the breast, making a bare 
spot about one-half of an inch wide and two inches 
long, and covering the hard part of the crop. Take 
a sharp knife and carefully cut only through the 
outer skin, leaving the crop proper intact until the 
blood stops flowing. Then cut a small hole about 
a half an inch in length into the crop and from 
this small opening remove the contents with a small 
stick. To make certain no obstruction is over the 
outlet passage insert the little finger into the open- 
ing. Wash the wound with warm water into which 
drop a few drops of carbolic acid or some other 
good germicide. After which sew up the opening 
in the crop, using a needle and white silk thread. 
Only two single stitches are necessary, but leave 
both ends long enough to hang out of the crop about 
an inch. Then take three stitches in the skin, but 
don't include the crop in the tie. Feed on light soft 
food and keep off the grain ration for a week or 
ten days. A tonic in the drinking water is advisable. 



CHAPTER XLVII 

CANKER 

This disease may start with a small sore and then 
work its way upward under the skin, producing a 
swelling on the outside. If you lance the part 
swollen you will find it, no doubt, filled with a 
thick, cheesy substance. You might also start from 
the point of the small sore and work up into it. It 
is absolutely necessary that you reach the seat of 
the trouble, and burn it out with a solution of five 
grains of nitrate of silver to an ounce of distilled 
water, but first of all remove all the yellow, cheesy 
substance possible. Wash this cavity out daily and 
use the nitrate of silver solution freely, and then 
saturate a piece of cotton with a good antiseptic 
and plug up the cavity. Mix up a light solution 
of permanganate of potash and add this to the drink- 
ing water, giving them no other water to drink. 

This is a very stubborn disease to cure, but with 
persistency it may be very successfully combated. 
Fowls once affected with this disease are liable to 
produce this scrofulous disease in their offspring. 
This disease is contagious and may be transmitted 
to the balance of the flock through the drinking ves- 
sels; therefore remove all diseased birds, and put 
them into clean, disinfected coops. 

204 



CHAPTER XLVIII 



EXHIBITING POULTRY 



The breeding of standard varieties of poultry for 
exhibition purposes requires considerable study and 
careful mating of the breeding pens. Beauty alone 
is no assurance of standard quality. A specimen to 
be eligible for the show room must conform as 
nearly as possible to the standard. Many ama- 
teurs think because they have fine looking birds they 
can show and win in competition, but when these 
birds are handled by an expert and carefully in- 
spected they are found to be deficient. 

There are a multitude of points to take into con- 
sideration. Even poultry fanciers who have studied 
the American standard of perfection carefully are 
ofttimes unable to make proper selections. The rea- 
son for this is their eyes are not trained for this 
work. 

The amateur, no matter how fine a stock he has, 
should not attempt to do his own selecting for the 
show room. 

There are many poultry fanciers who know the 
general outline of the breeds which they keep — 
their eyes are trained to detect a standard shaped 
specimen — ^but when it comes to the many minor 
points they are entirely at sea. I have known of 

205 



2o6 EXHIBITING POULTRY 

such fanciers finding fault with decisions at the 
shows, but when shown the minor defects which 
they overlooked they realized their inability to select 
properly. 

Ofttimes we notice fine looking specimens which 
we think should have shared in the prize money, but 
when these birds are taken in hand and carefully 
gone over we find some decided defects. This also 
holds good in buying birds. 

Most of the criticism heaped upon the judges 
comes from amateurs who imagine they know as 
much about poultry as those who have made this 
work, I might say, a life study. An experienced 
exhibiter, as a rule, very seldom finds fault with 
the judge's decision even if he knows an error has 
been made. Such mistakes cannot always be 
avoided. 

Another thing lost sight of by most inexperienced 
exhibitors is putting their show birds in the proper 
condition. A bird, no matter how high its quality, 
if not groomed for the pen, will not display its good 
qualities. Condition means much in the judge's 
eyes, and many a good show specimen has met its 
Waterloo for the lack of it. One cannot expect 
to take a bird off the roost the night before shipping 
to the show and expect such a bird to be in show 
condition. Show birds should be penned in indi- 
vidual coops beforehand so that they will be accus- 
tomed to the imprisonment. 



EXHIBITING POULTRY 207 

Exhibition birds must first of all be quite tame; 
then they should go through a little training so that 
they will stand up in position when necessary. 

All birds for the show room should be perfectly 
clean and most white fowls must be properly washed. 
The legs and combs should also be scrubbed and 
rubbed with alcohol. After the birds have been 
washed put them into clean straw covered pens in 
a warm place. There is quite a little trick in wash- 
ing birds properly and it requires practice. 

Proper shipping coops is another item. You can- 
not expect the birds to arrive at their destination in 
good condition unless the right kind of coops are 
used for transporting them. Some poultry raisers 
use any kind of old box or crate, into which they 
crowd their stock, and the result is broken feathers, 
picked up combs, and sometimes disease from being 
exposed to the inclement weather. 



/ 



CHAPTER XLIX 

SHIPPING BABY CHICKS 

The traffic in day-old chicks, or what is commonly 
called, the **baby chick business," is not understood 
by the general public. They cannot understand how 
these little, one might say helpless, creatures can 
be carried by the express companies for hundreds 
of miles without either food or water or artificial 
heat The layman, unfamiliar with poultry raising, 
is apt to condemn it as bordering upon cruelty to 
animals, but the man or woman who has given the 
subject any study at all will soon be convinced that 
such is not the case. 

The shipping of day-old chicks was carried on in 
England some few years before it was attempted 
in this country, but there the distances are not so 
great, and it remained for the American poultry 
breeders to demonstrate to the world that they 
could be safely shipped hundreds of miles with equal 
success. 

The day-old chick business is not a difficult thing to 
handle, provided several important details are care- 
fully looked after. First, you must produce chicks with 
the proper vitality, and this can only be brought 
about by obtaining the eggs from good, healthy and 
vigorous breeding stock, and then the proper incu- 
bation of these eggs. Second, proper shipping boxes 

208 



SHIPPING BABY CHICKS 209 

must be provided, so ventilated as to prevent direct 
draft. Third, care should be exercised not to chill 
the youngsters in removing them from the incubator 
into the shipping boxes. Fourth, do not feed them 
anything at all, the yolk of the egg supplying all the 
nourishment necessary for the first few days. 

There are several forms of boxes used for shipping 
by express. Some use a wooden constructed box, 
covered with burlap, but I much prefer the heavy 
cardboard, or corrugated boxes, divided into com- 
partments holding 25 chicks each. The objection 
to the wooden parcel covered with burlap is that the 
latter sometimes gets torn in transit, permitting too 
much air to get into the compartment, thus chill- 
ing the occupants, or admitting too much light in 
one spot to which the chicks will naturally crowd, 
and in doing so will trample on each other, killing 
some and crippling others. 

Every precaution should be taken not to give the 
chicks too much ventilation, a very small hole will 
supply enough oxygen to a compartment holding 
25 chicks, as the lung capacity of a day-old chick 
is very small. Too much air will reduce the temper- 
ature of the box: The body heat of 25 chicks 
crowded together in a properly constructed and 
ventilated box will, under ordinary conditions, go 
as high as 95 degrees, which by the way is about 
the average brooder heat. The amount of light 
supplied should also be very limited, chicks remain- 



2IO SHIPPING BABY CHICKS 

ing more quiet when the compartment is dark, thus 
preventing jostling and trampling. The bottom of 
the box should be covered with short-cut alfalfa, 
clover, or straw, to the depth of about a half an 
inch. The lid should be securely fastened on, tied 
down, which will keep the curious from opening 
the box. Then the package should be labeled, de- 
noting its contents. 

It is very important to notify the purchaser just 
whtn the shipment is to be made, so that the party 
^an be on the lookout for them, preventing unnec- 
essary delay, and also making it possible to have 
brooder, etc., in readiness when the little fellows ar- 
rive at their destination. In cases where the shipper 
does not take this precaution it often turns out very 
disastrous. 

The month of May is an excellent time to pur- 
chase baby chicks, weather conditions have set- 
tled and the germ of the eggs are stronger, thus 
bringing forth good vigorous chicks. May chicks 
develop very quickly, and it is a matter of record 
that many of the New York Madison Square Garden 
and Chicago Coliseum Poultry Show winners for 
several years have been hatched in the "Merry 
Month of May." May hatched chicks are all right, 
and if properly fed and cared for will fill the egg 
basket the following winter. Some of the very 
highest authorities throughout the country agree 
on this point. 



CHAPTER L 

COLOR OF CHICKS 

A COMMON question asked, especially by novices, 
who have purchased baby chicks or settings of eggs, 
is regarding the correct color and markings of the 
newly hatched birds. It is often thought that the 
youngsters should exactly resemble their parents in 
color, and when it is found that a brood of Black 
Minorcas are black and white, the vender is taken 
to task and is condemned for sending out inferior 
and mixed stock, or eggs, as the case may be. 

The black varieties seem to cause the most com- 
plaints, as the chicks of those breeds are generally 
black and white, with the white predominating. 
Some of those showing the most white mature to 
be fowls of the best black color. 

Chicks of the white breeds are creamy white, 
milk white, and yellow white, sometimes with gray 
spots or marks. Light marked breeds, such as the 
light Brahmas and Columbian Wyandottes, have no 
indication of the black hackle and tail markings 
which will develop when they get their full plumage. 
When hatched barred Plymouth Rocks are sooty 
black on their backs and necks, white on the throats 
and wing tips, and have patches of grayish white 
on the heads. 

211 



212 COLOR OF CHICKS 

The buff varieties of chicks have buff or yellow 
plumage when hatched, but a light buff chick sel- 
dom improves in color with age. The partridge 
colored varieties as well as black, red games, and 
brown Leghorns, are clearly marked along the back 
with a brown stripe, and on each side of this is a 
much lighter stripe running from the head to the 
tail. These varieties in many cases show white 
wing feathers before they molt their chick feathers 
in the fall. 

Houdan babies are white with black markings 
on heads and shoulders, and have tuft on their heads, 
the size denoting the future crest. Houdans always 
have five toes, Andalusians vary from French gray 
to blue-black, but there are often some in a flock 
that are black and white. Colored Dorkings are 
light brown with dark stripes along the back, and 
the Silver Dorkings have a much lighter marking 
on the back. 

Do not discard the chicks too soon because they 
happen to show some off colored feathers. These 
may disappear after molting time. 



CHAPTER LI 



MOULTING 



Moulting time is the most trying period of the 
year. Hens require special attention during this 
changing of plumage. The hens will stop laying, 
but they deserve this much needed rest, every living 
creature is entitled to some rest during the year. 
Being scant on feathers, they should be provided 
with good shelter, to protect them from exposure. 
li this is not provided, roup and other diseases may 
be expected. 

It is always desirable to have the fowls start 
their molting as early as possible, so that they will 
be through before the colder weather sets in. Those 
molting early and getting through with it before the 
fall storms will be the early winter layers. 

As soon as the hens start losing their feathers, 
the heavy grain diet should be cut down and more 
green food should be fed, green food having a ten- 
dency to loosen the feathers. Do not be worried 
about the hens being hungry, it will do them good 
to lose a little of their surplus flesh. Sunflower 
seed will also assist them in molting, and will 
brighten up the new feathers in the colored varie- 
ties. A little Epsom salts in the drinking water once 
or twice a week will keep them in good condition. 

213 



CHAPTER LII 

HEALTHY EGGS 

Does the egg contain microbes? It may or it may 
not. That is to say, there are eggs that appear to 
be absolutely sterile, and again, there are eggs in 
the contents of which microbes — ^bacteria or molds — 
can be demonstrated, Poppe, in 19 lo, working in 
the Royal Health Department in Berlin, came to 
the conclusion that fresh laid eggs derived from 
hens that have not copulated are mostly germ free 
in their contents, whereas eggs laid by mated hens, 
and as a rule fertilized, may contain bacteria. 
Poppe speaks of this conclusion derived from his 
own personal investigations as being a complete cor- 
roboration of a view already in good standing. That 
is to say, such reputable workers as Burden-Sander- 
son (1878), Schrank (1888), and Menini as late 
as 1908, had noted absolute freedom from bacteria 
in recently laid hen's eggs. The scientists' accept- 
ance of this view is seen in the fact that certain 
workers proceeded to show why eggs were free 
from microbes and we find Wurtz (1890), Turro 
(1902), and Horowitz (1902), claiming, as a re- 
sult of their researches, that the reason for this 
freedom from bacteria is due to the presence in 
both white and yolk of certain substances having 

214 



HEALTHY EGGS 215 

power to destroy bacteria. But Poppe, after going 
back to 1878, says that we have to thank Zimmer- 
• iian for showing us that only fresh laid eggs derived 
itoni virgin fowls are free from microbes, whereas 
fet' '^ e^gs generally contain bacteria and therefore 
spoi' nicie frequently than fertile eggs. 

Another source of microbic invasion of the egg 
and its contents is to be found in the external me- 
dium. Poppe and Cao, as well as other investigators, 
have demonstrated that microbes gain entrance to 
the Qgg contents from dirty, moist surroundings. 
Enough has been done in the way of investigation to 
show that eggs while being kept for ordinary use 
before hatching or marketing should be kept in a 
clean, dry place. 

Clean eggs laid by clean hens, in clean nests, kept 
clean and delivered clean to the consumer — surely, 
that sounds well. It is not such an idealistic notion 
as to be unattainable in ordinary practice. 



CHAPIER LIII 



START THE BOYS 



Why not interest the boys in poultry raising: r Why 
not give them some interesting work, whic > will 
assist materially in reducing the high cost of living, 
and educate them in a practical way ? 

Most every boy has leisure hours every day, 
which could be utilized to good advantage not alone 
for his parents* sake but for his own. Give the 
boy some pleasant occupation, and in nine cases out 
of every ten he will grow up to be a good boy and 
develop into an industrious, bright business man. 

No other vocation offers as many opportunities 
along this line as poultry raising. 

There is lots of pleasure in poultry keeping; it 
has a fascination not to be found in other lines, and 
it offers the boy an opportunity to make money 
without interfering with his studies. It will give 
him exercise in a natural way, plenty of fresh air, 
and relieve his mind from his daily studies. 

Poultry keeping in a small way is not what 
might be termed hard work, and yet it is work 
that must be done systematically, carefully, and dili- 
gently. The experiences gained in this way will 
greatly benefit the boy in his future career, even 
though another field of endeavor is chose^-" in after 



START THE BOYS 217 

years. It is knowledge that he cannot obtain through 
books or verbal teachings; it is good, sound, prac- 
tical experience, which only comes from the daily 
routine necessary in successful poultry keeping. It 
gives him actual business ideas not to be gotten from 
his studies or from running about the streets with 
other boys. 

The average boy will take readily to the work. 
To him chickens are pets, to start with; he likes 
them because they are alive; he takes an interest 
in feeding them, watching them run about, and 
soon learns that they appreciate kind treatment. 

If the boy gets to that point, and most boys 
will, you may rest assured he will look after his 
charges and not neglect them at any time. Of 
course boys are boys and need watching, but there 
is little watching necessary when they keep chick- 
ens. 

Most boys want pets — some dogs, some cats, 
some rabbits, and so on; something alive. Then, 
why not give them pets which not alone pay for 
their keep, but also net a profit and help reduce 
the grocery and butcher bills. There is something 
to such pets — ^yes, more to it than most fathers and 
mothers realize. 

I venture to say if more boys in the larger cities 
had pets there would be less bad boys and less 
criminally inclined young men. If the boys had 
poultry to look after at home they would not be 



2l8 START THE BOYS 

found loitering about pool rooms. They would be 
home boys, under the eyes of their parents or guar- 
dians, and they would be good boys, honest boys, 
and kind hearted boys. 

Poultry raising will make the boy thoughtful. 
He will soon learn that forgetfulness means loss. 
There are many details to this work, and all of these 
details are important. To carry them out success- 
fully requires thoughtfulness and system. As he 
progresses in his work he realizes more and more 
the importance of attending to each detail, and 
knows that none of them can be safely forgotten. 

By association with his little flock the boy learns 
to be kind to animals, which tends towards making 
him kind to his fellow men. This kindness grows 
on him in a natural way, and kindness awakened in 
this manner cannot possibly slumber in after years. 

To keep poultry successfully requires some book- 
keeping. An accurate account should be kept on ex- 
penses and receipts. This will give the boy a chance 
to get practical experience in this kind of work, and 
teach him to be accurate in everything which in- 
volves dollars and cents. It will also teach him the 
importance of being economical in expenditures, 
for it won't take him long to learn the necessity of 
holding down the expenses in order to have a sur- 
plus in the treasury. 

If the boy is industrious he will learn to use tools 5 
thus he will be able to build his own coops and re- 



START THE BOYS 219 

pair many things about the plant. He can also learn 
to make many of his appliances, such as water foun- 
tains, feed hoppers, nest boxes, shipping coops, 
roosts, dropping boards, feed bins, brood coops, etc. 
This gives the boy practical manual training, and at 
the same time saves considerably on the expense 
account. 

Aside from the education the boy may get from 
this line of work, the possibilities of making money 
are favorable. I know of boys who are buying all 
their own clothes and saving money fox a college 
education from the proceeds of backyard poultry 
plants. The investment to start the boy in this busi- 
ness is not heavy, in fact, it is much less than most 
parents think. Start him in a modest way, and let 
the little poultry farm grow with the boy. 

Help him to decide on the breed to be kept. Don't 
let him have more than one breed to start with, and 
do not permit him to have anything but thorough- 
bred stock. He will take more interest in nice look- 
ing, well-bred birds. They will cost little more, and 
will do much better. It will also give him a chance 
to sell eggs for hatching, and surplus stock at good 
prices. 

Either buy him some chicks or eggs for hatching. 
You can have the chicks shipped to you by express, 
and they can then be given to hens or put into a 
brooder, the latter preferable. Buy enough so he 
will have a nice flock to select from in fall. The 



220 START THE BOYS 

surplus can easily be disposed of, and of course one 
must make some allowances for losses. 

Farmers would do well to give the younger boys 
a chance with poultry. If nothing more, give them 
one pen of good birds to start with. The boy or boys 
should have full charge of this pen and keep all its 
profits for his or their own use. It will assist mate- 
rially in interesting the bo3rs in farm life, and make 
them feel that they have a personal interest in at 
least a part of the farm. 

Here is an opportunity to start your boy or boys 
in a business which may be the making of a success- 
ful future career. 



CHAPTER LIV 

THE BILLION DOLLAR INDUSTRY 

The poultry industry is correctly termed the "bil- 
lion dollar industry" of this country. In dollars 
and cents it far exceeds the combined value of the 
wheat and oats crops, and these figures, compiled 
by Uncle Sam, only take into consideration the out- 
put of poultry on the farms, not giving any data 
on the output of poultry farms and back-yard poul- 
try plants. It is hard to estimate definitely how 
much in round numbers these nonconsidered sources 
of supply would add to the grand total, but from 
observations the figures at hand would be greatly 
increased. 

Quoting from government reports, seven states 
raised more than 20,000,000 fowls in 1909— namely, 
Illinois, Missouri, Iowa, Texas, Kansas, Ohio, and 
Indiana. The combined production from these 
states was more than 89 per cent of the poultry pro- 
duced in the United States. Four states produced 
more than 100,000,000 dozen eggs — Missouri, Iowa, 
Ohio, and Illinois, which figures 26 per cent of the 
total production from the figures at hand. 

Illinois is in the lead for fowls raised in 1909. 
The farms of this rich prairie state produced 
32,352,888 fowls in that year, with a total valua- 

221 



222 THE BILLION DOLLAR INDUSTRY 

tion of $15,404,028, which is an average of 48 
cents a fowl. During the same period 100,119,418 
dozens of eggs, valued at $18,940,454, an average 
value of 19 cents per dozen, were produced in this 
state. 

Missouri's production of poultry amounted to 
31,913,210, at a total value of $14,572,585, an av- 
erage for each fowl of 46 cents. The reported 
total production of eggs amounted to 111,816,693, 
aggregating a total valuation of $19,345,602, or an 
average of 17 cents a dozen. 

Iowa, another big poultry raising state, had an 
output of 29,999,147 fowls in 1909. The grand 
total amounting to $13,914,985, an average of 46 
cents for each fowl. The total amount of eggs 
produced figured 109,760,487 dozens, with a valua- 
tion of $19,235,600, or an average of 18 cents per 
dozen. 

Ohio raised 23,433,005 fowls in the same year 
and these were valued, as a total, at $10,997,633, 
or an average of 47 cents a fowl. The 100,889,599 
dozens of eggs produced in that state were valued 
at $19,748,658, averaging 20 cents a dozen. 

The report as compiled by the census bureau of 
the United States shows the production of 1,591,- 
311,371 dozens of eggs, valued at $306,688,960. 
The production in 1899 was 1,293,662,433 dozen 
eggs and the value of $144,240,541, which shows 
while the production of eggs on the farms of this 



THE BILLION DOLLAR INDUSTRY 



223 



country only increased 23 per cent, the value more 
than doubled, the exact amount of gain in dollars 
being $162,448,419, or 112.6 per cent. 

The total number of farms included in this 1909 
report numbers 5,655,754, or 88.9 per cent of all 
the farms in the United States, and the number of 
such fowls was 488,468,354, or an average of 86.4 
fowls a farm. The total value of fowls produced 
in 1909 in the entire country was $202,506,272, and 
the total value given in 1899 amounted to $136,- 
830,152. This shows an increase in the ten years 
of $65,500,000, or 48 per cent. 



CHAPTER LV 

USEFUL HINTS FOR POULTRY RAISERS 

Keep a careful record of your flock the year round. 
It is the only way to find out how much they are 
earning for you. Always charge yourself with all 
the eggs and fowls used in your own kitchen ; other- 
wise, your record will not be accurate. 



Keep a sharp lookout for rats and cats. Don't 
grow chicks to feed to four-legged thieves. 



Buttermilk mixed with ground foods will tone up 
the appetites of the fowls in the fattening pens. 



Avoid feeding chick food that has been in stock 
so long that it is moldy. It is bound to cause much 
trouble. 



Keep the chicks growing. If there are any droop- 
ing their little wings and sitting around, look them 
over carefully; they may be troubled with lice. 



For egg production, pullets are the money makers 
in a poultry plant; hence, they should receive every 
attention from the poultry raiser. 

224 



USEFUL HINTS 225 

To get the most out of your flocks, you must 
adopt present-day methods, so as to be on even foot- 
ing with your competitors. 



It will pay to trap-nest your hens, and keep a 
record of what each one is doing for the egg basket. 
This is a sure way to weed out the "drones." 



Chicken feathers can be sold, but they do not 
command the prices paid for duck feathers. White 
chicken feathers bring the best prices. 



Never frighten your fowls ; keep them as tame as 
possible. If occasion requires you to remove a hen 
from the nest, do not throw her out, but lift her up 
gently. 

Train your pullets not to be afraid of you. Fowls 
that are easily frightened never do so well, and cause 
lots of trouble about the hen house. A wild pullet 
is a nuisance in a well regulated flock. 



A good way to test an incubator is to place eggs, 
selected at random from the same lot, under a hen 
at the same time the incubator is set and watch 
results. 

Disinfect the brooders before putting the chicks 
therein. In fact, it is advisable to remove the chicks 
and go through with this process at least once a week. 



226 USEFUL HINTS 

Sanitary conditions are absolutely necessary to retain 
the health and vigor of the little ones. 



It is a good idea to keep the pullets separate from 
the old hens, as the former can stand heavier feeding 
without danger of over fattening them. The surplus 
cockerels should also be excluded from the pullets if 
good results are to be attained. 



Cleanliness in the runs is just as essential as in the 
houses. Too often the yards are overlooked. If the 
runs are bare of vegetation, they should be scraped 
or raked often enough to prevent them from getting 
filthy. Occasional spading is advisable. 



Rake the litter in the scratching sheds and houses 
often, so as to keep it clean and sanitary. A little 
disinfectant sprinkled amongst the straw will also 
assist in keeping it sanitary. Of course, the litter 
must be changed when it becomes too much soiled. 



Boiled rice, from which all the water has been 
boiled out, is good for chicks; it regulates their 
bowels and prevents diarrhoea. It should be fed once 
or twice a week — ^not thrown on the ground, but fed 
from a clean dish. 

Either build the nest for the setting hen on the 
ground, or put some fresh earth in the bottom of 



USEFUL HINTS 227 

the nesting box. The eggs need moisture during 
incubation, and this is one of the best ways to sup- 
ply it. 



If the poultry keeper selects for vitality, keeps 
not more than ten females to each male, feeds prop- 
erly, selects the eggs of proper size and shape, there 
is little danger of being troubled with unhatchable 
eggs. 



Do not set the incubator in a stufify room. Good 
ventilation is absolutely necessary to obtain the de- 
sired results. A basement or cellar is an ideal place 
to set an incubator, providing a more even tempera- 
ture and more moisture. 



Local market conditions have at times much to do 
with the variety of poultry most profitable to keep. 
Some localities demand a brown egg, while others 
want a white egg. It stands to reason that it is 
advisable to cater to the demands of your market, in 
order to get the best prices for your products. 



Select the best shaped eggs for hatching purposes. 
Never set any rough or deformed eggs, nor eggs 
small in size. Have each setting as uniform in size 
as possible. When having eggs shipped in for hatch- 
ing purposes let them rest about 24 hours before 
putting them under the hen. 



228 USEFUL HINTS 

Save your poultry manure for the garden patch. 
Sprinkle it with land plaster (gypsum) or coal ashes. 
This makes an excellent compound for a fertilizer. 
This manure is very valuable, and will make a big 
improvement in your garden soil. Try it for your- 
self, and you will be surprised what it will do. 



An inactive, lazy cockerel or cock is not a safe 
bird to use at the head of a pen from which you 
expect to gather the eggs for hatching. Vitality 
counts in him just as much as it does in the female ; 
in fact, more so, especially when only one male is 
permitted to run with the hens. 



Eggs may be safely dipped into water during 
incubation, providing, of course, the water is of 
the same temperature as the eggs, about 103 de- 
grees. Do not dip later than the eighteenth day. 
Such treatment is only necessary in the absence of 
sufficient moisture. 



Give the growing chicks plenty of exercise. The 
run should be covered with short cut alfalfa, straw, 
or clover, to the depth of two or three inches. Scat- 
ter grain food in this litter, and make the youngsters 
dig for it„ The chicks will enjoy the sport and will 
develop into strong, healthy fowls. In other words, 
make them work for their food. 



USEFUL HINTS 229 

Go into the hen house at night and listen dili- 
gently for a short while. It is a good way to detect 
a cold or the first symptoms of roup in the flock. 
Birds breathing hard or rattling in their throat should 
be taken off the roost and carefiilly examined, and, 
if affected in any way, removed to a coop or apart- 
ment away from the rest of the flock. 

Do not let your hens get into the habit of eating 
eggs. This habit is one of the worst fowls can have, 
and it is very apt to spread very rapidly throughout 
a flock. By having the nesting boxes as dark as 
possible, there is little danger of the hens acquiring 
this habit ; hens also prefer a dark, secluded place in 
which to lay their eggs. 



If your method of feeding gives good results do 
not change it just because you read of other methods 
used by other poultry raisers. Various methods may 
be successful; conditions are so different that they 
demand different methods, and a poultry raiser must 
study the conditions of his own flock, their surround- 
ings and the climatic conditions also. 



Do not give foods of a too fattening nature during 
the hot summer months. A good hot-weather feed 
which can easily be obtained by the backyard poultry 
raiser is boiled table scraps mixed with bran. Feed 
this in a crumbly mass, and cold. For a grain food, 



230 USEFUL HINTS 

use oats and wheat. If the table scraps do not con- 
tain sufficient meats, add some dry beef scraps, or 
feed fresh meat. 



Give your poultry a home of their own and don^t 
permit them to roost on trees, in the cow barn, im- 
plement house, or other out-buildings. Build them 
a good comfortable house for their own use, and 
build it large enough for all. Do not keep more 
stock than your poultry house or houses will hold. 
Either build more houses or dispose of some of the 
stock. This holds good in summer as well as winter. 



A very common mistake made is to pack hatch- 
ing eggs carelessly. Even though the buyer is a 
beginner he will note the condition of the pack- 
age when received by express or parcel post. If 
the eggs have been packed poorly, and though they 
have arrived safely he will not take a chance to give 
you a future order. Good Qgg shipping parcels are 
cheap, and should be used by everyone making a 
business of selling hatching eggs. 



For a persistent cough try the following: Pur- 
chase from your druggist some tablets of arsenite 
of antimony i-i,ooo of a grain drug strength each. 
Give each sick fowl one tablet three times each day 
until relieved. If many fowls are affected put in 



USEFUL HINTS 23 1 

the drinking water twelve tablets to each pint of 
water, and give them no other water to drink during 
the treatment. This will cure the most obstinate 
cough. 



If you have your poultry confined in runs, plow 
up some of the ground, so that the fowls will have 
some fresh earth to scratch in. They enjoy it very 
much, and it gives them a chance to find worms and 
other things which are beneficial to them. Fowls 
having access to the fields w^ill find plenty of freshly 
plowed soil, but it is better to supply it close at hand 
so that they will not wander all over the farm. The 
little chicks also like to scratch and dig into freshly 
turned soil, and should be given every opportunity 
to do so. 



The marketing of eggs is a feature which needs 
more attention. Many do not properly sort their 
eggs. Each lot should be as uniform in size and 
color as possible, and the culls should be used for 
home consumption. Private consumers should be 
served with eggs put up in neat packages holding one 
or two dozen each. Have these boxes clean and 
properly labeled. A neat package is a good adver- 
tisement. Have the eggs clean. No one cares to 
receive filthy-looking eggs. These little details are 
very essential in marketing eggs, and should never 
be overlooked. 



232 USEFUL HINTS 

So many poultry raisers lose sight of the fact 
that oats is more reasonable in price than other 
grains, and at the same time one of the very best 
poultry foods. When buying oats, get the very best 
quality obtainable. It is a much better feed during 
hot weather than corn, being less heatening and con- 
taining less fattening matter. If oats are boiled, 
they will be more relished by the hens. One quart of 
oats will swell into two quarts when boiled. Steel- 
cut oats also makes an excellent feed for young 
chicks. Sprouted oats is extensively used as a winter 
green food, and produces good results amongst the 
laying hens. 

Poultry raisers who can spare a little time should 
study up the art of caponizing. Capons demand a 
good price upon the market, and are always in good 
demand. The operation process is easily learned and 
is so profitable that it pays any poultryman to try 
his hand at it. The slips are not lost, and if you 
kill a few by practicing you can sell the carcass on 
the market or use it for home consumption. Of 
course it is necessary that you have proper tools to 
do this work, but these can be purchased at poultry 
supply stores anywhere. Capons sell best in Febru- 
ary, but also sell well during other seasons of the 
year. 



The best mixture for whitewash I know of is the 
one used by the United States government. Here 



USEFUL HINTS 233 

it is : Take a half bushel of unslacked lime, slack 
with boiling water, cover to keep in steam. Strain 
through a fine sieve or strainer, add a peck of salt, 
preferably dissolved beforehand; three pounds of 
ground rice boiled to a paste; stir in while hot half 
pound of Spanish whiting and one pound of glue, 
previously dissolved. Add about five gallons of 
hot water to the mixture, stir well, and let it stand 
for a few days. Apply hot. One pint covers one 
yard. Will withstand the weather and will not 
rub off. 



Do not send out eggs for hatching which you 
would not set yourself. Remember you are getting 
a better price than you would be getting on the mar- 
ket, hence your customers are entitled to something 
more choice than the ordinary run of eating eggs. 
When making a sale, fill the order with the object in 
\^iew of getting another order from the same cus- 
tomer. Send a man nice looking good eggs, and he 
will order again when in need of something in your 
line, but send him cull eggs, and you will be the 
loser. There is just as much in working up a trade 
in the poultry business as any other line, and just 
as much efforts should be put forward to please the 
customers. 



People living on rented premises should purchase 
portable houses or build movable structures. A 



234 



USEFUL HINTS 



good, cheap house may be constructed from two 
piano boxes at a cost of about $3. A simple way to 
make such a house is to remove the boards from the 
tall sides of the boxes, place them on two joists, open 
sides facing each other, and then spike them down 
securely. Use the boards removed to patch up the 
ojien gaps between the boxes, and then cover with 
some good roofing material. Put in the door and 
windows, place your nests and roosts, and you will 
then have a house to accommodate a dozen hens. 
A good idea is to raise this house a couple of feet 
from the ground, inclose the back and two ends with 
boards, leaving the front open, so that the hens can 
use this space for a scratching place in bad weather. 



MAKING THE FARM PAY 

By C. C. BOWSFIELD 

This very important book tells how to get the big- 
gest returns from the soil and make farm life more 
attractive and successful. 

Farming opportunities, the marketing of produce, 
the raising of vegetables, fruit and poultry, dairy 
products, and all phases of agriculture are discussed 
by an expert. 

A book that every city man ought to read and by which 
every country man would profit. — New York American. 

It gets down to the bed rock of farming. — Boston Ad- 
vertiser. 

The book is packed with new, practical, money-making 
ideas. — St. Louis Times. 

Of immense value to a farmer in any part of America. 
— Portland {Ore.) Journal. 

Important and helpful to city man and farmer alike. A 
splendid guide for any adventure in farming enterprise. — 
Philadelphia North American. 

Full of sensible advice. The author avoids exaggeration 
and shows he has given the subject his best thought. The 
book is cheap only in price — in that it certainly is cheap. — 
Jacksonville, Fla., Times Union. 

An important, practical book, treating the subject with 
great care. — Boston Transcript. 

An admirable text-book because it is the farmer's best 
friend. It will make any farmer make hv^ farm pay. — The 
Journal of Education, Boston. 

Full of useful information, with every phase of farming dis- 
cussed with commendable clearness. — Mail and Empire, Toronto. 

An immense amount of information for those who intend to 
take up farming as well as for the farmer. — The American 
Cultivator, Boston. 



300 Pages. Cloth. 12 Mo. $1.00 Net; by Mail, $1.13 

For sale by all booksellers or supplied by the publishers 

Forbes & Co., 443 S. Dearborn St., Chicago 



THE BACK YARD FARMER 

By J. WILLARD BOLTE 

The hundred chapters of this book give complete 
and rehable directions for the best cultivation of 
vegetables, fruit and flowers and the proper care of 
poultry and pets. This thoroughly practical book 
by an expert in gardening will be of immense value 
to any person desiring to get the most out of the 
garden. It shows the wonderful possibilities of the 
back yard and small garden in contributing to the 
table, to health, to profit and pleasure. 

SOME OF THE CHAPTERS 

Making the Back Yard a Garden Spot 

Back Yard Dividends 

Making a Garden Productive 

Preparing the Garden 

Back Yard Fruit Trees 

A Back Yard Berry Patch 

Garden Root Crops 

Hot Beds and Cold Frames 

Home Grown Asparagus 

Strawberries 

Why Gardens Fail 

A Succession of Garden Crops 

Midsummer Plantings 

Making the City Flock Pay 

The Busy Bee 

Laying out Flower Beds 

Planting Annual Flowers 



Attractively Bound in Cloth. 
12 Mo. $1.00 Net; by Mail, $1.13 

For sale by all booksellers or supplied by the publishers 

Forbes & Co.^ 443 S. Dearborn St., Chicago 



GREAT BUSINESS BOOKS 

The reading of these books will In- 
crease anybody's business ability and 
earning capacity. 

The Transaction of Business 

and 

How to Win Fortune 

By Arthur Helps and Andrew Carnegie 
This book contains the principles of all busi- 
ness dealings. It is one of the world's leading 
books on business. Farmers, merchants, manu- 
facturers, employers and employees find it a 
mine of valuable knowledge. 
Price, $1.00. 



Thoughts on Business 

By Waldo Pond ray Warren 

This is one of the great works on business. 
It has been translated into several languages 
and indorsed by leaders in every branch of com- 
merce. The topics cover practical phases of 
business. 

Price, $1.25. 



The Making of a Merchant 

By Harlow N. Higinbotham 

A book of sound, practical business methods 
written by one who has reached the summit of 
commercial success. It is packed with sugges- 
tions for the man of affairs. 

Price, $1.50. 

For sale wherever hooks are sold or supplied by the publishers 

FORBES & CO., 443 S. Dearborn St., Chicago 



